Gakusei Meido
by Wasabisugar
Summary: It was going to be Hinata's first day as a babysitter, she was going to have so much fun doing what she really enjoyed, but when she rings the doorbell, she is met by a boy her age, who claims he has no siblings, and no parents. He does, however propose that she become his personal maid instead. AU
1. A Babysitter

Here is a one-shot that has been tugging on my brain for a few days now. I don't know what it was that made me think of it, really.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Babysitter**

* * *

She'd just finished school and was on her way out. Luckily, the weather wasn't too bad,which meant that she could possibly even walk there without the rain returning. She didn't want to get wet, because then she'd have nothing to change into. She left her gym clothes in her locker in hopes of that she wouldn't need them.

Today, Hinata would begin her part-time job as a babysitter. She had always loved to work with children, even as a child herself. Since her family was quite big, she would always be tasked with taking care of all her younger cousins during holidays and family get-togethers.

Most of her older cousins would just leave and hang out with their friends, so Hinata was alone most of the time with fifteen cousins to be with.

She smiled a little, because they were fond memories of hers, and she loved to think back on them.

A gentle breeze passed the streets she walked on and picked up strands of her hair that caressed her cheeks, nose and lips with their tickling softness. She closed her eyes and hoped, hoped that they wouldn't be afraid of her rare trait. The fact that she lacked pupils was nothing she could do anything about, but she wished that she could. Some children would find it scary that her eyes were just one simple shade of lavender.

_ 'Could this be the place?'_

She stopped and stared up at the enormous skyscraper in front of her. It was modern, with lots of windows that made Hinata question the amount of privacy that the family had. Since the apartment was in Kasumigaseki, she already knew that it was going to be extravagant, but this? The monthly rent of this skyscraper must be at least 600,000¥! (Around $6000) Hinata was only taking 1000¥ (around $10) per hour. It's not like she wanted to raise it, but why would they hire such a cheap babysitter?

She double checked the address to see that it was correct and slowly began making her way into the building. It must've looked weird to the people walking by, since her uniform was not the kind you'd expect someone from this apartment building to have. The Tokyo Metropolitan Koyamadai High School was quite popular among people with normal income, but the children that lived here surely went to private schools.

She was met by a doorman. He bowed and asked:

"Who are you seeing?" Hinata fumbled a bit and straightened her uniform in an attempt to look somewhat more professional before responding.

"I-I'm here to see the U-Uzu-Uzumaki f-family." She handed him the paper with their permission to enter.

"I see. Welcome in."

The doorman stepped aside and opened the doors for her.

Once inside, Hinata had to stop to admire her surroundings. A fountain, a beautiful, long red staircase like the ones you'd see in foreign romance movies where the girl would come walking down in a beautiful dress towards the boy at the bottom. He'd turn around and gasp at the sheer sight of her beauty and they would together make their way to dinner at some wonderful restaurant. Hinata sighed. What a dream...

There were security cameras everywhere, which made her a bit uncomfortable, but she was nevertheless very excited to meet the family.

_ 'This family is probably very nice. I bet the children are well-behaved and fun to be with, too.'_ She approached the elevator nervously and told the elevator operator man which floor she was going to. She'd already memorized everything last night, but was completely new to the fact that the family lived on the top floor. She looked out through the glass wall that separated her from outside and sighed anxiously. Only a few meters away now. The elevator slowed down and made a "_ding_" noise upon arriving on her floor. The elevator operator smiled and bowed before going back down to the first floor.

Hinata gulped audibly.

"Okay... This is it."

She rang the doorbell and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

No answer.

She rang again.

_'No way... But I thought this was the right time...!' _

"I-I guess I'll come back another time..." She put the note back into her bag and was about to leave when the door suddenly opened and she was greeted by a boy in her age. He wore a towel on his head and sported nothing but a white t-shirt and a pair of simple beige-brownish shorts. From where the towel didn't cover, Hinata could see that he had a strong color of blond hair. He looked very confused, to say the least.

"Uhh... Do I know you?"

His tall figure towered over her as he leaned forward to get a better look of her.

"U-Uhm... I-I'm the babysitter, Hyuuga Hinata." She bowed as low as she could to show her deepest respects, but his expression only grew more grave.

"B-babysitter? Do I look like I'm old enough to be a dad to you?"

"N-no, but maybe your pa-parents..."

'_Don't tell me, I'm going to babysit him?!' _

The boy scratched his head awkwardly and pulled the towel off, revealing his wet, bright hair. After a few seconds, he opened the door for her and motioned for her to enter. Hinata obliged and stepped gingerly inside the apartment.

It was messy, dirty and smelled of ramen. There were boxes everywhere and clothes lay all over the rooms. Everything she thought it would be, was crushed by reality and the guy who stood in front of her. He looked pleased.

"N-nice...H-House..." She forced herself to say in order to break the silence, but the boy didn't answer.

He looked like he was contemplating something very important.

"Uhm... Wh-where are your parents..?"

"Have a seat somewhere."

Hinata really didn't want to, but she sat down on one of the dusty chairs and coughed when the dust flew in her face. She tried to be as formal as she could, but this was too much!

"Say..." It looked like he'd reached a conclusion. He turned to her and grinned widely. He looked so happy, and his grin was so childish, it made Hinata blush slightly.

"I don't have a little brother, so I don't really know why you're here."

His grin faded into a smirk and he approached her slowly.

_'Wh-what...?!' _

"Nor do I have parents."

He looked awfully content for being wrapped up in this mess.

'_Th-then why did he let me in...' _

He slammed his hands down on the table in front of her and leaned down towards her face.

"But I do have a proposal."

"U-uh..."

"You can become my personal little maid. I'll pay you well."

Hinata's eyes widened and she stood up.

"I-I think it's about time I leave!" He grasped her wrist and smiled.

"You won't regret it."Hinata's face was so red, one couldn't tell the difference between her and a tomato.

Suddenly, he burst into laughter.

"I'm kidding, but I could use someone to clean this place up." Hinata pulled her wrist out of his hold and averted her eyes.

"I-I don't know... You could hire a cl- cleaner to do that..."

_'He held me... He actually held my wrist... No boy my age has ever done that before...' _

"That would be boring."

The smirk dancing upon his lips seemed to match his behavior. He was so friendly, with a tint of awkwardness, but somehow, Hinata couldn't bring herself to turn him down. Before she could think about what she'd said, the words had already left her mouth.

"O-okay... I could tr-try..."

"Cool!"He fist pumped. "Then, I want you here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday." Hinata quickly spoke up.

"Fr-Friday..?"

"is there a problem?" Hinata didn't have many friends, so working on a Friday couldn't be that much of a hassle. She shook her head and lowered her eyes to the floor.

"Great. How does..." He thought for a while. "10,000 sound?"

"T-ten thousand per v-visit-"

"Per hour." Hinata dropped her jaw.

"I-I'm no professional!" She resisted.

It sounded so crazy, and it was hard to believe, but she felt like she was a manga character in a Shoujo or something. Although the guy in front of her wasn't really like most of the guys in those.

"I don't really care as long as you get the job done. So, it's a deal?"

"I couldn't accept th-that much..."

"Is it a deal or not?!" She nodded eventually.

And that was how Hinata became a cleaner at the Uzumaki residence. She would have lots of things to look forward to, but also lots of things that would test her loyalty and intelligence. She didn't know if she'd made the right decision, but she knew that she was following her heart, and it felt right.

* * *

Maybe it should be a story rather than a one-shot.


	2. Interesting

Well, I certainly didn't think I'd be doing this, but I got so many reviews, favorites and followers, I couldn't resist! This one-shot is now _officially _a story!

Anyway, **I have a serious question.**

I also changed the name to **Gakusei Meido **which means "A student Maid". I mean, she's not a babysitter anymore, haha.

What rating do you think it should have? I want there to be romance, of course, but I don't know what my readers want. How much detail should there be, and how much romance can you handle?

**Please answer!**

* * *

**Chapter two! – Interesting**

* * *

Hinata watched her feet take steps across the grey tiles along the road, her glossy leather shoes next to the shined pointed-toe leather shoes of passing businessmen. It was a cold day, too cold for the blazer only, so she wore the cardigan over her white shirt as well. The coat didn't even cover down to the end of her skirt, so she was freezing a lot on her bare legs. The knee-length socks didn't keep her very warm, after all. Yesterday was one of those weird exceptions where it would be rather warm outside, even though it was the middle of January.

'_I should buy a scarf…'_

Wednesdays weren't really any special. No tough classes, no after-school activities, but she **did **have to go to her part-time job in Kasumigaseki. At first, she thought she would be babysitting two children because their parents were too busy with work, and it made perfect sense considering their living conditions. In order for someone to earn that much, they must work a lot.  
But when she opened the door…

Hinata stopped in her tracks and frowned.

She was met by a guy in her own age that lived alone! He had no parents, no brother, no family, nothing! **How **could this even happen?!

She nibbled on her nail and continued walking. She was walking like her shoes were too tight, making short little strutting steps like a clockwork soldier. But at the moment, she really couldn't care less about the way she looked to others.

'_I can't let anyone know about this..! And I need to find that newspaper article!'_

She quickened her pace and arrived at school faster than she could ever imagine.

* * *

"Good morning!" Hinata switched her outdoor shoes with her indoor shoes and was putting them on when her friends, Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino came to greet her. They were both so pretty, Hinata couldn't help but feel embarrassed to be around them at times.

"G-good morning…" Hinata picked up her bag and averted her eyes shyly.

"How did the babysitting go?" Hinata's neck broke. What was she supposed to say!?

'_Think fast! I need to say something believable!' _

"I-i-it went f-i-fi-fine…" She stuttered, her voice shaking horrendously.

"That's great!" Ino smiled. "Was the dad hot?" Sakura smacked her blonde friend on her head and scowled.

"Ino, you disgusting pig! Hinata doesn't have a dirty mind like you!"

"Well, sorry…"

'_I don't even know his name… I told him mine, but his is still a secret. His family name is certainly "Uzumaki", though…' _Hinata thought to herself as she began walking to class.

It was the beginning of the third term, which meant that Hinata would soon worry about possibly not ending up in the same class as her friends. She didn't have very many, so being without them would make things very difficult for her. And by not very many, she meant two. Two friends.  
But she liked to think that they were all she needed. They kept her occupied and were always there for her. She knew they would never abandon her, and that was all she needed.

Hinata carefully slid the door to her classroom open and walked in, followed by Sakura and Ino, who were loudly discussing their plans for the holidays already.

'_We don't end until in April…'_

"Hey, are you already discussing the break? We just started school, ya know." Kiba, the class clown chimed in on their conversation.

He was quite muscular for his age. Tanned, rough skin and always had his hair in a mess. Despite his rather crazy personality, he was one of the most popular guys in the school. The most popular one by far, was Uchiha Sasuke, who had just entered along with an enormous crowd of girls that always seemed to follow him wherever he went.  
Both Ino and Sakura were desperately in love with him, but Hinata only saw him as a classmate. She knew that he was out of her league, and he was anyway really not her type, but it would nice to be friends with him.

"Okay everyone, I've… Decided to reassign your seats. It seems like th... The loud bunch are always in the back..." The homeroom teacher, Mr. Kurosawa Minato seemed a little sick today. He was pale, and kept looking like he was on the verge of falling over.

The class president, Nara Shikamaru stood up lazily and dragged his feet to the blackboard. He wrote on some paper, tore them, folded them and put them in a box. When everyone had finished rearranging their desks, Hinata was sitting in the far back by the window next to Sasuke.

Ino had asked her several times if she liked anyone, and her answer had always been no. The boys in her class were so loud and immature, they barely spoke to anyone who wasn't considered popular, anyway. Hinata was just an average girl living an average life.

Or, that was at least what she thought.

"Hey." Hinata continued staring out of the window next to her. She didn't really know anyone in her vicinity, so she thought that maybe it wasn't her that he was talking to.

"I said hey, Hinata." Hinata's ears perked and she quickly looked to her right. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, clearly amused by the fact that she was so shocked about being called by her first name.

"Looks like I'm next to you this term." He leaned back in his chair and yawned quietly. Hinata nodded and averted her eyes, embarrassed to be talking to the most popular guy in the school.

"M-mm…" She agreed.

'_I should tell him that 10,000 is too much… I could almost stop going to school and just work for him… That's just…'_

"Are you listening?" Sasuke seemed to be somewhat disturbed by the fact that he wasn't able to catch Hinata's attention.

"W-what…?" Hinata looked up at him again and blushed a bit. She was slightly worried that the girls in her class would hate her for talking to him.

"Look, Hyuuga-san is talking to Sasuke-kun!"

" No way, Why would he do that?"

"I guess he's just trying to comfort her for being so ugly, haha!"

"You said it!"

Hinata smiled wistfully and stood up.

"I… I-I'm going outside for a second…" She stepped out of the room, leaving a dumbfounded Sasuke behind. He, however, cast a short glare at the two girls whispering behind him.

'_How annoying, talking about Hinata like that.'_

Hinata leaned back against the wall outside her classroom. She had a lot on her mind, but right now, she just needed to get away from all the gossiping. Not that she was expecting Sasuke to talk to her, and it was quite rude of her to just walk out on him like that, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't handle being talked bad about for simply speaking to someone. Hinata admitted that she wasn't popular, but she didn't deserve to be treated so badly.

She sighed. But what was there to do?

* * *

"So now, it's the train to Kasumigaseki again." Hinata turned towards the Tokyu-Meguro line while putting her PASMO train pass back in her bag pocket.

'_And then I need to switch to the Toei-Subway-Mita line, and lastly the Tokyo-Metro Hibiya Line. It's only thirty minutes, but it feels so short.'_

She stepped on the train and sat down next to a couple of high school students. They laughed and joked, but one of them seemed to glance at her ever so often. Hinata didn't notice though, since she was so engulfed in her book. She looked up when the train stopped to see which station she was at, and upon realizing that it was soon her turn to get off, put the book back in her bag and instead listened to some music. The boy couldn't seem to keep his eyes off her, so one of his friends spoke up to her.

"Hey." He said, giving Hinata a second to remove her earphones and look up at him. She blushed shyly when her eyes met his, and was forced to avert them to the floor.

"What school are you from?" He asked.

"U-uhm… Koyam-Koyamadai…" He let out a short chuckle.

"So, you're not from a private school?" Hinata's head shot up and their eyes met once again. This time, the boy responsible for making his friend talk to her spoke up.

"Jyo, that's rude…" His hair was kind of like the boy she was on her way to, except for that it lay calmly on his head instead of all around in a mess. He, in a way reminded her of him, except for that this guy's hair was black. He looked intelligent, wearing glasses and holding a text book with one hand. Now, she forgot why he was similar to that guy.  
He completely lost his coolness upon noticing that she was gazing at him.

"I was just wondering, Geez! Anyway, my friend thinks you're cute, why don't you exchange phone numbers?"

"Hey, Jyo!"

The train stopped, so Hinata quickly stood up and lowered her head a bit to hide her expression. She was blushing.

"W-wait!" He reached out, but realized that it was futile to try to chase after her since she appeared to only find his presence uncomforting.

Hinata ran out of the train, stopped and turned around. She held a hand up to cover her face below her eyes in order to hide her blush. It was embarrassing being hit on like that, after all. The boy was telling his friend off, who was just scratching his head carelessly.

'_I need to gather myself…' _She continued her journey to the Uzumaki residence.

* * *

Hinata looked at the door code in front of her, then down at the small piece of paper in her hand and gulped. Insecurely, she pressed the numbers and stepped back when hearing the door unlock itself.

'_**The door only stays open for a few seconds, then it locks.'**_

She panicked and flung the door open.

The apartment was empty. She let out a relieved sigh, took her shoes off, making sure to place them carefully next to his slippers, and entered.

"Ojamashimasu…" (A phrase used when entering someone else's house. It's like, "I'm coming in", or "I will disturb you now")

It was so big, yet all the food, boxes and clothes made it seem small. She took her time to look around and find all the cleaning products before rolling up her sleeves and beginning her first day at work.

After only a few seconds of treading through stacks of ramen bowls and papers, Hinata tripped and fell in a pile of hopefully unused underwear.

"A-ah!"

She picked herself up and mentally cried.

'_What have I gotten myself into…' _She turned her head to look in the mirror beside her, but quickly screamed when seeing that a pair of underwear lay on top of her head. As soon as she pulled it off and threw it across the room, she fainted.

* * *

"And then, and then she said "I didn't know you thought that" as if she didn't know!" The uniform-clad teen walking next to the blonde Uzumaki burst into laughter. He only smiled vaguely and looked down at his feet.

"Isn't that a good thing." He said calmly.

"Well, of course, but it's so innocent! And I mean, she obviously knew!" He was the loudest in the class, but was also very popular for his good looks and way with women. He, like the rest of his friends, had a whole fanclub dedicated to him.

"Naruto, you're walking unusually fast. Are you in a hurry?" The boy named Naruto halted and blinked a few times.

'_I feel like I'm forgetting something… Something in the apartment…' _He thought.

"I don't… think so…" The boys around him laughed at his unsureness.

'_I guess I'll find out when I get there.' _

"Anyway, should we play that new game, what's it called, Titanfall?"

"Nah, I think we should play some Eroge! (Erotic anime game)"

"How about we study?" All the guys looked at Naruto for a second, then, yet again burst into laughter.

"I don't really get why you're so popular sometimes! You're so gullible! And short…" Naruto looked up at the bright sky and frowned.

"Hmm… It looks like it just might rain. Maybe you should go home."

"We're going to be INSIDE YOUR HOUSE!" They exclaimed in unison. Naruto smirked and looked at them with dark, mysterious eyes. And even though they were blue like the sky above them, they could also change color and mood whenever they pleased.

"Right, just warning you." The high school students entered the residence and made their way towards the penthouse. Naruto was a man of few words, but he somehow always managed to fit in with the people in his class.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

_Vroom… Vroom… _

'_The vacuum cleaner?' _Naruto shuddered at the thought of it starting itself. But then, when he was about to take his shoes off, he remembered what he'd forgotten.

"I just remembered something I need to. I'll see you tomorrow!" Naruto slammed the door shut behind himself, some strands blowing into his face and tickling his cheeks before calmly landing in a different position when the current from the door disappeared.

"Whaaaaaat!?"

"Aw, man!"

"You'll pay for this!" His friends eventually left, and Naruto walked in after placing his shoes next to Hinata's.

'_She's here today. She really came.' _

As soon as he stepped into the living room, he was met with a glittering floor, an empty coffee table, a gleaming TV screen and a completely new sofa. Well, it looked new since the one he had before was exactly the same but greyish brown. Either that or she'd dusted the whole room off.

'…_Not bad.' _He threw himself into the clean sofa and turned the TV on. There was, as usual nothing interesting on, but he really just wanted to feel what it was like to lay in down _and _watch TV at the same time. He couldn't use the sofa before because there were too many clothes on it. After all, Naruto didn't have anyone around the apartment, so having someone here felt a little special to him.

"Oh, y-you're… here…" Hinata wiped some sweat from her forehead and rolled her left sleeve up again while walking into the living room. Naruto hid his smile and excitement to see her in his very own house. It felt fun to have a girl over, rather than a guy.

But looking at her, something was missing.

"Hey." He studied her body from head to toe, but couldn't seem to figure out what she was lacking. A hat? No… No matter how hard he would scrutinize her, he couldn't discover the problem. Then, she reached down and pulled her socks up.

'_Now I know!' _Naruto's eyes lit up before darkening into a shade of grey. His lips curled into a smug smirk and he lowered his head to look up at her through his blonde bangs. Hinata just stood, turning and twisting in embarrassment.

'_Wh-what is he doing…?' _He stood up and glided across the clean floor towards her like a slinking panther and stopped just in front of her. Hinata gasped quietly, and in response stepped back, but he wrapped his cold fingers around her arm and pulled her towards him.

"How rude…" The mischievous expression playing upon Naruto's face caused Hinata to quiver, and thoughts of what he was planning on doing to her kept rolling through her mind. Slowly, but surely, his head sank down to her level and their eyes met. His were half-open, while hers were as wide as they could possibly get. Just as the proximity was almost at complete zero, he whispered:

"Naruto." Hinata, who had subconsciously closed her eyes, opened them.

"Wh-what…?" Was her response, and she too, for some reason, was whispering. He couldn't hold back anymore, and started laughing. Hinata, who was at a completely loss, stepped back and stared at him in utter confusion, waiting for him to explain himself.

Then, an enormous wave of heat and realization swept across her, leaving her face as red as a rose.

'_He… He co-could've k-k-k-k-ki-ki-ki-ki…..!' _She was stuttering inside of her own head. Naruto couldn't seem to stop laughing.

"Haha! You should've seen the look on your face!" He held his hand to his stomach and squeezed his blazer from the pain of his amusement. Hinata looked down awkwardly and frowned.

'_This guy… Really likes to embarrass me… I wonder if he's one of those… Players…' _Seeing her frown, Naruto immediately stopped laughing and tried to express his reason for being so entertained by her shyness.

"I'm sorry, I just thought your expression was so cute." Hinata threw herself into a wall. She placed a hand on her forehead under her fringe and stared a hole through the floor while desperately trying to keep herself alive.

'_Wh-what is this guy's problem…?!'_

Naruto realized that his reasoning was only making things worse.

"Naruto. It's my name. Remember it, okay?" He smiled whole-heartedly.

'_Naruto…?' _This time, it was Hinata's turn to be amused. She giggled, and Naruto, who was already extremely bewildered, demanded an explanation.

"Wh-what?!"

"It's just… K-kind of a st-strange name…" She smiled at him, and suddenly, things felt okay again for the both of them.

'_This… girl…' _

"An-anyway, I sa-saw that you di-didn't have… uhm… a-any food in you-your refrigerator…"

'_But you had lots of ramen in the cupboards…' _She thought.

"So… I-I uhm.. Bought some… And made you s-so-something si-simple…" Naruto's expression lit up like a dog being praised by its owner.

"Really?! That sounds great! Is it in the kitchen?"

' _She seems…' _

Hinata nodded and went back to her work. She planned on finishing the whole apartment before eight. He turned and watched her pick up the vacuum and begin cleaning the floor in the bathroom again.

'_**Interesting.'**_

* * *

What did you guys think? Still worth continuing? If it is, I'll write more in each chapter! I think it's about time I actually write around 5-8000 words per chapter rather than 1000-3000. Must be so annoying!

Anyway, please help me out with the rating!

K = Some light romance, barely a kiss (Completely innocent)

T = Kiss and possibly more, but with no detail (cute!)

M = Harsh words, detailed love scenes, LOTS OF CUTE ROMANCE, but less innocent… (you'll probably blush)


	3. The Uniform

You guys asked for it, so here it is! An M-rated somewhat Shoujo-ish story!

I'm just getting started here, but this chapter will really expose lots of things about the characters. I'm sorry to those who wished for a T-rated story. I will let you know ahead of time which chapters will contain the "stuff", so keep a lookout!

Naruto's school is introduced, as well as his true personality, which was somewhat foreshadowed in the last chapter. Hinata's lack of care for money's value will cause a stir within Naruto that may or may not make him _even more fascinated _by his little servant.

I never thought this would be a story, so I'm a bit nervous writing the plot now. I really didn't plan this ahead of time, haha!

Please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter three- The Uniform**

* * *

The eyelids of a sixteen year-old high school student fluttered before opening fully. He hated it when the sunlight would escape through the small cracks between his curtains and somehow hit him right in his face. It was the most uncomfortable thing to wake up to.

He glanced at his alarm clock, which was one minute away from setting off.

'_6:09' _

He sighed wistfully and threw the sheets off his warm body, revealing his bare skin and white underwear. His soft, messy hair covered his eyes even as he shook his head to get it out of the way. Naturally, he'd have to color it for the sake of the school's rules, but because of his good grades and phenomenal behavior, the principal allowed it. He was, after all, the reason for the popularity of the school to begin with. Without him and his looks, the principal would've lost at least half of the female students.

Naruto shut his alarm off just as he heard the trigger click and walked out of his bedroom. He grabbed the hanger with his uniform and made his way towards the bathroom. Normally, he'd shower in the evening like everyone else, but he was too busy making fun of his new-found personal maid to care. It's not like he stank, anyway. He turned on his water cooker and threw his underwear on the floor before stepping into the shower. His footfalls were so silent and precise like a waiter in a five-star restaurant, since he really hated making too much noise when he was alone.

The shower turned on automatically when he stepped in, and as soon as the water had finally made its way through his thick hair to his scalp, he grabbed a shampoo bottle and squirted some of its contents into his wet hand. He threw his hand up into his hair and rubbed at such a rapid pace that bubbles formed in mere seconds.

'_It was pretty fun, having her over yesterday. It'd be fun if she could come today, too.' _He leaned his head back within the radius of the shower water and let the thick fluid run down his back and legs before finally disappearing into the drain like the rest of the water. He looks down at his feet and bit his lower lip lightly in thought.

'_I wonder what school she goes to…' _

He picked up the Dead Sea soap, extended his right arm and began sliding the solidified salts and minerals across it. It hurt a bit due to the soap's rough texture, but was said to be very good for his skin. Not that he cared especially much, the colors just looked cool.

His chest was flat, not very muscular at all. It wasn't like he had a concave or anything of the sort, but his body wasn't much to brag about. He wasn't like one of those stupidly handsome Americans with eight-packs and pumped-up biceps. In all honesty, Naruto was quite skinny, and also quite small. He just happened to have a body and face that caught the eyes of many girls, even though he personally couldn't see what the deal was. He'd seen plenty of cooler guys around.

When he finished showering, drying himself of and putting on lotion and deodorant, he walked into the kitchen and ate cup ramen. Being naked was one of the perks of living alone. He could do whatever he wanted without worrying about anyone seeing him. Not that he did much.

Finally, he put on his uniform and fixed his hair. Sometimes he'd style it, sometimes he'd leave it exactly the way it was, because at the end of the day, it always looked the same.

* * *

"Uzumaki-kun!" Eight girls from his class came charging towards him at the speed of light first thing in the morning. He barely had time to put his shoes away before he was dragged away to the arts classroom by the flock of girls. He never said much to express his feelings, and frankly, he didn't really have much to say. By now, Naruto had gotten used to the way people treated him. He knew that if he didn't abide by the girls around him, the guys would distance themselves, and when that happened, the girls would also isolate him. In the end, he'd be alone.

"Wow. Nice drawing." His bored tone went unnoticed by the girls. They squealed and latched onto his arms, clearly wanting to hear more.

'_Girls are so predictable.' _He thought to himself. _'Except for that girl. She caught me off-guard a few times.' _

"What about this?" the girls showed another painting.

'_But it really is weird. Why would she think that I needed a babysitter? Maybe she's a stalker looking to come closer to me?' _He shuddered at the thought of it. _'No, that can't be true. Because, she was so reluctant.'_

"Uzumaki-kun, why do you look so annoyed…? Do you not like it?" Naruto answered automatically without thinking twice about it.

"No, it's really nice." The girls, once again squealed in delight and finally let him go because they couldn't handle his supposed cuteness anymore.

'_I don't know what to believe, really, but I find her fun to be around, so she can be a stalker for all I care.'_

"Naruto, English starts soon!" Two boys from his class came walking towards him at a rather quick pace.

"We have the presentation today." One of them stated. Naruto nodded.

"I know." Was his reply.

"It's easy enough for you, but we're definitely going to fail this one!" Naruto let out a short, sarcastic chuckle.

"You say that, but you always get good grades."

"Argh!" They conversed on their way to class. It was all so stereotypical, like you'd see in those dumb Shoujo Mangas.

"Hey, have you read the latest chapter of "One Piece"?"

"No! Don't spoil it for me!" his friend laughed.

"You know, Luffy and-" The other guy slammed his hands over his ears and repeated the same word like a mantra.

"Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers!" Naruto walked silently next to his loud friends, never letting go of his thoughts about Hinata.

* * *

The night had rolled in over Tokyo, bringing with it the threat of a thunderstorm. The air was completely still and heavy, and thick clouds blotted out the stars.

He leaned back against the soft red seat after finding a comfortable place to sit. People of all ages looked at him, all for different reasons. The high school students were impressed by his good looks, the adults by his uniform reputation, and the elders by his lack of ability to sit straight. But he was tired and worn out. He had a bit of a way to go before he'd arrive in Akihabara. And by a bit of a way, he meant fifteen minutes.

_Sigh…_

'_People need to learn when to stop staring. Oh, I wonder if she has a phone number. I should ask her for it.' _The only silence outside of his apartment that Naruto was given had been demolished by a couple of guys from his class in the same train cart.

"Oh, and you know? She just stood up and left! She didn't even give Shouta her phone number!"

"Hah, what a bitch!" Boys wearing the same uniform as Naruto stood only a few meters away from him, talking loudly for everyone around to hear. The boy named Shouta was easy to spot since he was blushing and trying to get his friend to lower his voice.

"Jyo, be quiet…!" He grabbed Jyo's arm and tugged hard, but Jyo suddenly caught sight of Naruto and confronted him in an instant.

"Why ya riding this train?" he asked.

"… Going to Akihabara." Naruto looked out of the window and tried to watch the street lights, but the train was moving too fast for him to follow.

"You know, Shouta tried to talk to this really hot chick on the train yesterday. She had long purple-ish hair and really strange eyes! She wasn't from a private school, though, which was kind of a bummer." Naruto's eyes widened momentarily, but they soon relaxed and his tired eyelids fell halfway over them.

_'Did they meet Hinata?'_

"Hmm…" He looked at Shouta from a distance, but then returned his gaze to the window and replied in a low, venomous tone.

"Maybe it's because you creeped her out."

"What?"

"You said before that she didn't give him her phone number."

"Wh-whatever. You don't get it!" He walked back to his friends and continued his loud talking. Just then, an old lady leaned close to Naruto and whispered with a smile tugging at her lips.

"You said the right thing, boy." She handed him a small bag with a cookie of some sort inside.

"Take this." Naruto raised his eyes to meet hers and blinked. It wasn't very common for him to speak his mind, so being praised by a stranger really boosted his confidence. He grinned at her and laughed a bit nervously.

"Thanks, granny!"

He got off the train at Akihabara Station and stopped to think about his past actions. He placed his hands in his pockets and sighed contently, proud of his words.

'_Maybe I should be more honest.' _His breath created a white mist in front of his face that eventually dissipated into the air along with the anxiety he'd felt from insulting Jyo. Then, he finally began his journey to find what was missing on his little assistant yesterday.

Akihabara, the Electric City, as many called it. The place where you could find **anything** related to electronics. From cables and mobile parts to sex toys and panties used by fictional female characters to drinks with an anime girl mascot to maid cafés and guitar shops. It really had anything that a nerd could possibly want, which was exactly why he was there.

'_I bet she'd love to wear something like this. The girls in my class would wear anything to impress me.'_

He stopped in front of a door with a crooked sign above it that read "Cosplay and Entertainment Accessories" in damn-near handwritten symbols. Not that he cared, from what he could see on the photos on the door, the thing he wanted was inside. Naruto gently pulled on the door and walked in through the tight space. The only people in the store some giggling foreigners that seemed to take joy in looking at the various sex toys offered by the shop. The store clerk sat in some scrawny, lame-excuse-for-a-chair while reading a hentai magazine.  
Naruto didn't plan on disturbing anyone. He tightened the grip on his bag and stepped in. Immediately, the girls spun around and began whispering among themselves. He couldn't understand, because they weren't speaking English nor Japanese. It sounded like they were singing. Norwegian? Danish? Swedish? Either way, it sounded pretty cool.

Naruto kept his eyes low as he pushed his way through the store towards the costume section. There really wasn't a lot of space, and he kept having to stop himself from bumping the small objects off their shelves. He knew that he should be used to what his friends had forced him to endure, but the blush on his cheeks proved that he still wasn't. He was really just out after _one _simple little thing, and yet he had to see so much that made his heart almost beat out of his chest!

'_I really don't like this…'_ Just as he was close to turning around and leaving, he finally spotted what he'd been looking for. He snatched the S size, but changed to M after remembering something quite crucial, paid and fled.

* * *

Nestled in his soft, clean, new sofa, cosy with a fluffy blanket, glued to the TV, eyes almost turning square like the screen itself, Naruto was as relaxed as he could be. Suddenly, he burst into wild laughter and the tears streamed down his face as he watched his favorite show.

Scariest Serial Killers.

Hinata stood at a distance and stepped back even more when seeing his frightening reaction. She held the mop in her hands closer to her chest and resisted the urge to question his sanity. Then, as if only just then taking notice of her presence, Naruto looked over at her with his big, blue eyes that were changing with the colors on the screen.

"Oh yeah, I have something for you." Hinata quirked an eyebrow.

"Come here." He reached into his leather school bag, and after a few loud rustling sounds, pulled out a pitch black plastic bag and held it out to her. She looked very reluctant, as everyone knew that black plastic bags meant naughtiness.

"U-uhm… U-Uzumaki-san…?"

"Wear it, and I'll pay you extra." He smirked, but Hinata's nervous expression grew serious and she frowned. Naruto looked a bit confused by her sudden change of attitude and began to waver.

"Wh-what?"

"I-i… I don't do thi-this for the money… Yo-you know…" She pushed the bag back to him and furrowed her eyebrows slightly. He was shocked, to say the least.

"Really…?"

"I-I just want to… H-help out…" Naruto smiled knowingly and tilted his head to the side a bit.

"You know, you don't sound nearly as serious when you stutter like that." Hinata turned red and averted her eyes to the floor.

'_I-it's not like I can help it…' _

"Anyway, you don't even know what it is! At least have a look." Hinata couldn't argue with him, and slowly tore the sticker holding the opening together before putting her hand inside to pull out what was inside.

A maid costume.

Hinata couldn't be more embarrassed. She dropped the bag and uniform.

"Haha, don't change in front of me!"

"Y-you…" Naruto looked up at her and his eyes widened upon seeing her expression.

"Y-you… Y-you're one… o-of those… P-pl-pla-players… Aren't you…?" She held back the tears in her eyes and bit her lower lip to make her body forget the pain she was feeling in her chest.

"Players?" He stared up at her with an expression mingled with confusion and worry.

_'Do i give that impression? The girls in my class say that my silence and maturity is what makes me so cool.'_

"I…"

"I'm not a player. To be honest, I don't really like girls." Naruto turned the TV off.

"But I would've liked to see how cute you'd be in the maid costume. Besides, all cleaners wear some form of uniform, why shouldn't you?" She pointed to the length of the dress and then held it in front of her to show how it would barely cover her butt and Naruto immediately nodded his head in understanding.

"Then… Would you wear a longer one?"

"N-no!"

'_There, I said it…'_

Naruto laughed out loud at her resistance.

"Hmm… I'll just have to find a way to make you wear it then, won't I?" His voice was mischievous and menacing, but Hinata saw passed it and continued.

"…B-but… You shouldn't b-be buying th-things like that…"

"I have plenty of money to spend." Hinata hesitated, but then she decided to ask what had been bothering her ever since she first met him.

"W-where do yo-you get it a-all from…?" To that, he merely let out a chuckle and glanced at the clock.

"Isn't it about time you finish up? The trains are going to stop going soon, and then you might have to sleep over."

"O-oh-"

"That reminds me, what are your contact details?" He loomed over her, preparing to blackmail her if she rejected him.

"U-uhm…" A small blush spread across her cheeks and she pulled her phone out. Her small hands shook as she flipped her phone open and opened the menu.

"So that's what normal kids use… The flip-up phones…" Naruto was leaning down next to her in an instant. As she struggled to press the buttons, clearly unfamiliar with her phone, his eyes drifted over to her lips.

They were such a dark shade of pink. He was no expert with makeup, but he knew that lots of girls used lipstick to hide the lack of color that their lips had. Some used lip liner to make their lips full, too. But Hinata wouldn't need any of that, her lips were perfect.

Absolutely perfect…

"W-what's your number?" Hinata looked up at him and panicked when seeing how close he was. They both jumped away from each other, but their reasons were on completely different scales.

'_I'm getting way too caught up in this again…'_

'_He always gets so close!'_

He snatched the phone from her and added his number. She just barely caught it when he threw it back.

"Now, get back to work."

* * *

" A tournament against Koyamadai?! That's just boring! Plus, they're poor kids!"

Naruto hanged his coat on the hanger and sighed.

A tournament against The Tokyo Metropolitan Koyamadai High School had been announced, and Naruto's class was raging with anger, to say the least. He leaned out of the window and closed his eyes to enjoy the fresh breeze, ignoring the complaints of his classmates.

"Isn't that cold, Uzumaki-kun?"

"This is stupid! It shouldn't be mandatory!"

"C-calm down…" The teacher made an attempt to silence the class, but to no avail.

"I'm not going!" A guy crossed his arms angrily. The rest of the boys in the class agreed, but the girls looked to Naruto help.

"I don't know…" Naruto flicked through the students attending the school and caught sight of something pleasant.

A picture of Hinata smiling in the school photo.

"But… It could prove to be more fun than we think." He was tempted to smile because of Hinata's photo, and after a few seconds couldn't stop the tugging on the corners of his lips. The girls immediately took hundreds of pictures for their fanclub and exclaimed to the teacher:

"We're going!"

* * *

The day of the badminton tournament was a terrible day. The wind howled, piling up snow in drifts, blinding the students with ice-white dust. Hinata walked, bent over against the cold, protecting her eyes with her arms. Trees, posts, fences loomed into her vision, then vanished, swallowed in white.

It was a swirling storm of screaming silver. School was cancelled, but the tournament wasn't, because her school couldn't afford to pay the expenses.

As soon as she got inside, Hinata slammed the door shut and pulled her hat off. She wiped the snow off her face and sneezed, hoping that the short time she spent outside hadn't caused her to get sick. She pulled her gloves off, stuffed them in her bag and began looking for Sakura and Ino, who had texted her before saying that they were waiting for her inside.

"Yaho! Hinata!" Ino waved and ran down the stairs as Sakura smiled and took her time to get time.

"G-good morning Ino, Sakura." Hinata took her coat off and held it with her arm. It was too warm to wear. But she quickly regretted it when the entrance door opened and Sasuke stepped in. The cold hit her like a punch in the face and she quickly put the coat back on.

"G-Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura and Ino yelled in unison.

"Yeah."

"He answered us!" Hinata's friends were overcome with happiness by such a simple thing, he didn't even said "good morning", he just said "yeah"!

The two girls ran off into the changing room while giggling and squealing hysterically.

'_They must really be in love with Uchiha-san…'_

"Good morning, Hinata." Sasuke walked up to Hinata and forced her to take his hot chocolate.

"O-oh, Good morning, Uchiha-san." Hinata took it unsurely.

"U-uhmmm…" She looked at the hot cup and couldn't help but shiver from the sheer warmth of it against her frozen fingers.

"You can have it. You seem much colder than me." He touched her hand carefully, and out of surprise and embarrassment, Hinata let go of the cup. It crashed against the floor and spilled out completely, leaving Hinata frozen in shock. She wished she could do a 'Daphne' and drop through a Scooby-Doo style trap door in the floor. But there was no rescue from this embarrassment. It was absolute. Torture. Utter humiliation. The memory of dropping Sasuke's hot chocolate on the floor would be seared into her brain forever.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, looking down at her. He appeared to be… Worried?!

"A-a-h-ah-ah, i-i-i-I'-I'm so sorry!" Hinata bowed as low as she could, partly to show how sorry she was, but also to hide the crimson red blush on her cheeks.

"What? It's fine, really! I'll buy you a new one." Sasuke ran up to the cafeteria with the empty cup.

Just then, the door opened and in stepped a certain _someone. _Hinata's head shot up like a rocket and her eyes were met by Naruto's. They stared at each other for a second before Naruto began to approach Hinata, but slipped in the hot chocolate and landed like a rock on the floor.

"Aaaah!" He looked kind of funny, and if Hinata wasn't so well-behaved and panicked, she might've giggled a little.

'_Wh-what do I do?! I want to help him, but no one is allowed to find out that we know each other!'_

"Uzumaki-kun! Are you okay?!" As soon as the door opened again, several girls ran to his rescue. Hinata took this chance to slip away, completely forgetting about Sasuke, who was just arriving with a new cup of hot chocolate.

"Hina- Huh? What happened here?"

"He fe- Ah! He's so cute!" The girls that were supposed to be helping Naruto instead hugged each other and thanked themselves for deciding to come. Naruto sat up and looked at Sasuke with his deep, celestial eyes.

"Where did Hinata go?" Sasuke asked himself while looking around, confused. Then, Naruto spoke up.

"To the changing room." Sasuke's eyes shifted to Naruto and they stared at each other for a few seconds before breaking contact.

'_This guy… How does he know Hinata?' _They both thought.

Naruto stood up and walked to the changing room, followed by Sasuke. They changed on opposite sides of the room, but kept a close eye on each other.

Hinata, Sakura and Ino were already done changing and were warming up on the court. Because of the weather, the game was of course inside.

The door opened, and the two most popular boys from both schools stepped out. They were glaring at each other like they had hated each other for years, but no one even knew how they'd met. Ino's eyes formed into pink hearts as soon as she laid eyes on Naruto.

"He… He's so hot!" All girls around her agreed.

"You're right…" Sakura, too, was bewitched.

'_Am I the only one who doesn't understand…?' _Naruto turned away from Sasuke and scanned the room. He caught sight of Hinata and for some reason, a small blush made its face to his face.

'_She's wearing bloomers…' _Sasuke scowled.

"Hey, H- You there!" Naruto jogged up to Hinata and quickly started a conversation.

"You look super cute in those bloomers." Naruto smiled and scratched his head nervously and Hinata turned completely red in her face. As expected, Naruto's blush was no match for hers. All students from his school gasped at once and began talking among themselves.

"Uzumaki-kun barely smiles! What's going on!?"

"Does he know her?!"

"Is that his girlfriend?!" Sakura stepped forward.

"Hinata, do you know this guy?" Hinata was, at usual at a complete loss and had no idea how she was supposed to answer.

"U-u-uh-uhm-uh-"

"We don't know each other. I just think she's pretty, so I thought I'd strike up a conversation, that's all."

His class let out a sigh all at once, but suddenly realized what he'd just said and panicked once again. Naruto held back the urge to beat up every one of them for making his school look like a bunch of idiots.

"He thinks she's cute!?"

"Uzumaki-kun has never called anyone cute!"

"Is it love at first sight!?"

"Is it her boobs? It must be!"

'_D-did he mean that…?' _Hinata's eyes were wide like the moon. She couldn't believe what Naruto had just said. She was on the verge of fainting when Naruto suddenly got called over by his teacher.

"Uzumaki-san, come here for a minute."

"Well, I'll be off." Naruto ran a hand through his hair and cast a lubricious smile at Hinata. She was the only one to see him mouth "See you later".

As soon as he was off, Ino and Sakura bombarded her with love advice.

"Hinata! He _has _to wear a condom!"

"Tell him to be gentle!"

"U-uhm…"

"If his kisses are too hard, push him away!"

"I-it-it's no-not like…t-th-that…"

Over by Naruto, when his teacher finally finished talking to him, Sasuke confronted him face-to-face.

"Duel me." Naruto smirked.

"Sure, why not." Sasuke returned the smirk. They both tried to look calm, but the fire in their eyes could tell just about anyone how much they despised one another.

"Begin!"

The first matches were simple, and the skills weren't all too different in the classes. If anything, Koyamadai was winning. The students were slowly getting to know each other.

Naruto glanced over at Hinata, who appeared to be winning over the other team. Suddenly, something hard smacked against his face and he shook his head while taking a couple steps back. The white bird fell on the floor after having hit him right in the face, and Naruto picked it up with shaking hands.

"Nice hit, pretty boy." Sasuke twitched. Pretty boy?

"One point to m-"

"Yay!" Hinata exclaimed. She was overwhelmed with happiness for just winning one simple game against the worst players in Naruto's class. Sasuke smiled at the sight of her vibrant figure.

"Heads up!" This time, the bird smacked Sasuke in the face and caused him to tumble backwards. Not because of the force of the hit, because it wasn't hard at all, but because of the hit. He grabbed it from his face and crushed it.

"Why you little…" Naruto wore a bored expression as he raised his index finger to symbolize that he, too, now had one point.

"Let's mix the teams!" And after an hour, the classes were like one. But there was one badminton game that had been going on since the very beginning.

Naruto's and Sasuke's.

Sasuke launched himself into the air and tried to slam the bird down on Naruto's side, but he just barely managed to shoot it back. The winner ended up being Sasuke, however, since Naruto's endurance was below average and he had asthma.

Naruto took short deep breaths, and his chest heaved even ten minutes after the game.

'_I can't believe I lost!' _

In Sasuke's arrogant triumph, he smirked – Just a small pouting of the lips; a narrowing of the eyes and a tilting of the head. It was so subtle, it was even more infuriating for Naruto who caught a glimpse of it after losing to him.

'_Anyway, I know who to play against next. I'm tired, but I should be able to beat her.' _

"Hey Hi- You!" Naruto mentally slapped himself for almost saying Hinata's name, and Sasuke, who was too busy with his fans, didn't notice when the boy he just recently beat challenged her.

"One match." He leaned down to her and allowed his lips to tickle her ear as he whispered in an unnecessarily lustful manner.

"And if I win, you **will **wear that costume." She gulped.

'_I have to win…!'_

And although she tried her very best, Hinata lost with 0-10 against Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

I'm happy that this chapter reached over 4,500 words, and although I am sorry about the slow start, I can promise you all that there will be plenty of romance in the future! Please, be patient!

Anyway, for those of you who are wondering, the Japanese school year is a bit different than other countries' are. They have three terms.

1st term: April 10 – July 15

2nd term: September 1- December 20

3rd Term: January 10- March 20

I hope I cleared up some confusion with that! If you have any questions, write a review! If there are enough questions, I will do a Q&A for the next chapter! Speaking of next chapter…

Naruto can only pay in cash, but Hinata suggests that he just pay another time. Something unexpected happens, and she instead asks him to help her clean cars.

But Naruto notices that her throat is bare and exposed to the winter cold. What does he do?

Next chapter: A Gift!


	4. A Gift

I love how my computer keeps correcting "Naruto" to "Narrator". It really gives a new light to everything I write. Makes way too much sense.

Oh, and thank you for adding this story to a community! It made me blush so much!

If anyone recommends this story, please let me know so I can blush even more.

* * *

**Chapter 4 - A Gift**

* * *

"_Thank you for helping me, young lady!" Hinata smiled and waved as she was leaving an old woman's house after helping her carry her groceries. It was an early morning, but Hinata was still in a hurry to get to school in order to do some last-minute studying for a test. _

"_As a token of my thanks, please, take this!" The hag handed her a Melon Bread. "I doubt you've eaten breakfast." Hinata smiled, and her face shone in the sunlight as she expressed her thankfulness. _

"_Oh, could you please throw this away for me? I just got the newest one today!" She nodded and took the newspaper that the lady gave her. After once again saying goodbye, she decided to open up the newspaper and have a look at the part-time section, where she spotted the babysitting job in Kasumigaseki. Her heart leaped as the details seemed to match her schedule and hobby perfectly. She could take care of children once a week and receive 1000 yen per hour! It couldn't get any better!_

_What she didn't notice, was that the newspaper was **two weeks too old.**_

* * *

"N-No way…" Hinata crushed the article with her shaking hands.

'_I can't believe it… because it was only two weeks too old… I… This…' _She'd only shown the article with the permission to the doorman and was immediately granted access. No one questioned her, and it wasn't like she could call, because they didn't leave their number. Hinata could sort of see why they would give their address instead of their number, because then they could skip all the unwanted phone calls and be given a real chance to meet the student in person. It was perfectly reasonable, actually.

'_But why me!? __**What are the odds of this even happening?!** And **why **would they publish an article when they were going to move the week after?!' _Her head sank down on her desk and she let out a long, despairing sigh.

"What's eating you? We just ended school!" Sakura nudged Hinata gently with her bag in order to capture her attention.

"You look like a molding eggplant!" Ino joked.

'_What does that even mean..?' _She straightened herself and sighed once again.

"It's n-nothing…"

"Doesn't look like nothing… Is it about this article…?" Sakura looked over Hinata's shoulder at the wrinkly newspaper, to which the indigo-haired girl ripped it in half and a million more pieces.

"Woah! What are you doing?!" Hinata smiled awkwardly.

"I ju-just didn't want Japan to lose in the Olympic Games..." She lied.

"Which branch?"

"Judo…"

"…Didn't they win?" Hinata mentally panicked at her lack of lying skills.

"Anyway, are you coming with to Ginza?" She shook her head.

"I have to work today." Sakura and Ino pouted slightly. Their friend was growing more and more distant with her full schedule. She had extra classes, after school activities, top grades, was part of the student council, class president_ and _a had part-time job **three times a week!**

"Hinata, you're pushing yourself too hard!" Hinata let out a short giggle.

"I-it's fine." She gave them a reassuring smile.

"Oh yeah, did you know that the famous designer André Beaulieu and his assistant seamstress traveled to Japan just for **one **job?! It's crazy!" Hinata nodded, not really caring.

"Whaaat? I could barely afford a pair of socks from his brand! I wonder who could afford something like that!" Hinata listened to them conversing and prepared to leave. She didn't want to be late, even though she knew she'd get there before Naruto would.

Hinata had spoken to her dad about the part-time job, and sadly ended up lying to him about it. She wasn't alright with having to cover the truth from so many people, but for now, it would have to do. Hinata needed time to realize what she'd actually gotten herself into before she would be able to explain it to others.

She left the school and walked towards the train station. It was almost right outside. The winter wind howled through the long, empty sidewalk and bit at her already frozen skin, leaving her cheeks and nose red like a rose. The bleak grey overhead reflected her dark mood inside perfectly. These short days, these long nights, the dampness that crept into her weary bones and made them ache for summer again. Each footfall broke the frosted puddles that lay embedded in the uneven asphalt. The world seemed to lie barren and lifeless before her as if someone had put it to sleep.

Hinata felt comfortable enough to not pull out her paper with the directions on it by now. She sat down between and old lady and a middle aged man, making sure to place her bag in her lap without touching any of them.

'_I've cleaned at his house… thirteen times. That means, I've had a part time job for a month now.'_

Hinata gazed out of the window behind her, contemplating on what to make for Naruto as a snack when she got there. If she would come home to him without cooking anything, she knew he'd just heat up some water and eat cup ramen.

'_I really wonder what made him move here so suddenly… I mean, one week before school, that's so unusual. No wonder there were so many boxes when I first came home to him.'_

The middle aged man got off at the next stop and a high school student sat next to her instead. She paid him no mind, but he seemed to recognize her and waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hey." Hinata's eyes shot up and she quickly looked at him.

'_Oh… it's that guy who… wanted my number…' _She lowered her eyes awkwardly and, seeing this, the boy spoke again.

"I'm sorry about my friend. He's a bit stupid." He laughed shortly. Hinata couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved by his refreshing laughter. It was hard to resist not blushing.

"I'm Namikawa Shouta. From the school you played against in the tournament." His smile was extremely handsome. The way his lips curved upwards was so heart-warming to see. There was something about him that made Hinata a bit embarrassed.

"Hy-hyuuga Hinata…" She stuttered. His eyes widened momentarily, and he turned his head away from her for a reason she was not quite sure about.

"U-uhm..?"

"Th-that's… A cute name." He whispered, his mouth clearly covered, most likely by his hand. Hinata felt the heat rise to her cheeks upon being complimented, and she quickly tried to occupy her mind with something that had nothing to do with the conversation at hand. Sadly, nothing worked, and she just ended up being quiet, making it seem like she'd ignored him.

"A-anyway… Why do you take this train? It seems like you only do it on certain days." Hinata mentally panicked.

'_O-oh no, what do I say!?' _

"M-my friends al-always want to meet me in Ka-kasumigaseki for ch-choir rehearsal." She lied.

'_Choir rehearsal!? What am I thinking?!' _He appeared impressed by her lie.

"Wow, you practice choir? That's unusual, and pretty cool!" Even though Hinata could tell he wanted to express his excitement through the volume of his voice, she knew he was keeping it down for the sake of everyone around them. It was pretty taboo to talk on public transportation, after all.

Just then, a group of boys with the same uniform as Shouta got on the train. They talked loudly and about something people could really do without.

"So I said, 'If you consider **reading in the library together **romantic, then Matsumoto and I are married!'" He burst into laughed as he stepped into the cart together with his entertained friends. Shouta sunk back a bit and hid his face.

'_Does he not like them…?' _Hinata watched Shouta desperately try to not let them see him.

"But of course, being as stupid as he is," The guy put his arm around the one she thought to be Matsumoto and frowned. "Matsumoto just had to say 'Oh, I didn't know you thought of me that way' when I was clearly trying just to make a non-homosexual point!"

Through his very brief pause, Hinata heard the name of her station and stood up. She bowed casually to Shouta and headed towards the door. She was always prepared to step out when the doors opened.

* * *

'_I don't think it'd be a good idea to question Uzumaki-kun about this… Last time I asked him about his money, he avoided the question. Oh, I can't forget that I need to leave at five to buy the medicine for father.' _She unlocked the door and walked in. Right as she was about to take off her shoes like she always did, Hinata took notice of the three people that stood right in front of her.

"Welcome." Naruto had his arms crossed and wore one of the most disgusting smirks she'd ever seen. He was clearly _very _content with whatever he had planned.

"U-uhm…" Hinata slid back a few steps and hit the door with her back. She placed her hand on the handle and prepared to bolt out, but in one quick stride, Naruto had grabbed her arms and pulled her into the apartment, followed by the two strangers. Hinata took note of the measuring tape in their hands.

"W-wh-what's going o-on...!" Naruto simply chuckled as he continued pulling her further away from the exit.

"You're getting measured."

"Me-measured? I-I'm not th-that tall-"

"Not _that_ kind of measuring, idiot! I mean for the uniform." Hinata's eyes grew wide like golf balls when she finally realized what was going on, and Naruto couldn't stop himself from being amused by her reaction. To him, watching how Hinata responded to his comment was part of the fun of it all.

'_Is he s-serious?!' _

"You lost the match. I won. Which means, **you're going to wear a maid uniform whenever you work for me**." He snickered and let go of her. "If you run, I'll just tie you up." A long, cold shiver ran down her back as she watched Naruto laugh while retreating to take out money at the bank. She turned slowly to the man and woman next to her. She may have felt more comfortable if they weren't foreigners, because she was terrible at English.

The man looked like a model of some kind. He wore expensive international brands and was extremely fresh. He was much taller than anyone in her class, but his wide variety of clothing types told her that it must be the average in his country.

"André Beaulieu." He smiled, his teeth shone like the morning sun in her face due to their extreme whiteness.

'_Hm… Didn't I hear that name before…?' _Hinata thought for a little while, then her mind was sent reeling, unable to comprehend or process the images it was being sent by her eyes. She looked away, then looked back to see if he was still there. He was.

"W-what?!" She screamed, to which the two foreigners gave her a confused look.

'_I-it can't be… It just can't!' _She found she couldn't fit the key in the lock. She was as white as chalk. Her eyes and her mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of stunned surprise.

After a long time of soothing words and hand clapping to speed up her reaction time, Hinata was being spoken to again.

The lady spoke in English, and luckily, Hinata understood.

"I'm Mary Johnson. I'm a seamstress, so I'll be doing the measurements. Please extend your arms like this." Hinata still couldn't come under terms with what was going on, but she did like they said, because she was too nervous to do otherwise. As the measuring session went on, Hinata kept the same expression. She hung her head, allowing her fringe to greedily cover her facial expression from anyone but herself. Only she knew what kind of face she had, and she didn't plan on letting anyone else see how much she was blushing.

'_I-I'm going to wear a maid costume… It's normal, right?'_

* * *

He walked with an look of extreme boredom down the sidewalk by the stores. Several young girls turned around and whispered threatening things to each other.

"What a cute guy… I wonder if he's a model?"

"I hope he tries to ask me out!"

But Naruto's composure and demeanor didn't falter. He showed absolutely no interest in anything. His footfalls were silent yet, as usual very precise. He stepped right within the perimeter of each stone on the ground. It would've been extremely disturbing were he to miss one.

"He doesn't look like he's interested…" He passed every girl, pretty and ugly.

However, what was going on in his head certainly didn't match what his face had to offer.

'_That uniform is going to look so cute on her!' _He entered the high rise apartment building without a second thought, subconsciously making all the girls within his vicinity fall for him. Or, perhaps not him, but his wealth.

"I'm home!" Naruto threw his shoes off and ran inside after slamming the door shut. His excitement was a _bit _too obvious.

When he entered the room where Hinata was, he was immediately met by a sight for sore eyes. She was only wearing a short white dress given to her by Mary for better measuring. Her hair was put up in a high bun. Naturally, he wouldn't really care, but this was the first time, other than at the badminton tournament that he'd seen so much of her skin.  
Hinata's eyes met his and they both stared at each other for two seconds before they threw themselves back and hid their faces. Hinata's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to cover her body, and Naruto was trying to calm his breathing.

'_Well, I wasn't expecting this…' _He grasped some of his bangs and pulled his hair down to his eyes. The blush on his cheeks spread like wildfire down to his toes in an instant.

'_Why is my heart pounding? And why am I so warm?'_ He placed a hand on his cheek and frowned slightly, wondering if he might be sick.

'_I only get like this around her… Weird.' _He clearly had no clue why he was blushing.

"I'll put the money here." Naruto placed a small bag by their luggage and escaped to his bedroom.

"We're finished." The woman named Mary smiled at Hinata, who still couldn't calm her heart. The French designer said something to Mary, who in return laughed a little and nodded. Hinata wanted to ask what was funny, but didn't dare test her English skills.

They eventually picked up their stuff and left. The dress would be done in a week.

Hinata changed back into her school uniform and did her part. She also prepared Naruto's dinner as well as breakfast, and was about to leave when he finally came back.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I need to leave early today… I-I already cleaned…" She said, a bit nervous. She should've told him earlier, but he was locked up in his room for almost two hours!

"Oh, damn." Naruto looked to the side and frowned awkwardly. "I forgot to take out money."

"N-no problem!" Hinata pushed her small feet into the leather shoes and opened the door. "Another time wi-will be fine!" And just like that, she was gone. Naruto sank down on the floor and hung his head.

'_This is getting bad already…'_

* * *

It was the day that everyone loved, Saturday. This meant absolute freedom to many, including Naruto and Hinata. But not today.

"H-hinata…" Hiashi clutched at his stomach in pain and dragged himself towards her on the floor. The amount of death in his room was unbearable.

"F-father?!" Hinata shrank back a bit at the sight of her sick father. He seemed to be in severe pain. She felt powerless.

"Se-sei…" She could barely look at his tragic body. He was in so much pain…

"Seiro…gan." Hinata's neck broke instantly.

(*Seirogan is for Diarrhea)

"J-just a second!" She bolted out of the room to get the medicine she'd bought the day before. When she came back, Hiashi had managed to drag his body another meter towards the door. Hinata clapped at his failed attempt to get to the bathroom.

"H-Hinata… The ca-car…" Hinata's eyes widened.

'_He has to work today!' _

"I-I'll call your boss." She pulled her phone out, but Hiashi's hand stopped her.

"N-no… Please, go for me."

"W-what..!?" She moved back a bit.

"I need the… money…" Her eyes relaxed again.

"I ha-have money…" She said quietly.

"Not enough to pay the rent!" He resisted, but Hinata shook her head.

"My part time job pays well… So, I can pay." She said calmly. Hiashi's eyes widened.

"Hinata… You…" He gazed up at her and she couldn't help but giggle while drinking some milk she'd brought with her.

"Are you a prostitute?" Hanabi, Hinata's sister stood by the door, her arms crossed in the cockiest of manners. Hinata's smile vanished and she couldn't contain all the liquid in her mouth. She sprayed all the milk in Hiashi's face.

"WH-WHAT?!"

* * *

She bolted down the sidewalk like an Olympic champion at the start gun, her phone clutched tightly in her cold hand. She had no time to spare, his job was starting in five minutes! How was she supposed to handle it all by herself?

'_I-I wonder if I could ask him…' _She pondered while the chilly winter air blew into and passed her face, leaving her nose and cheeks a bright tint of red. Her throat was bare, and she was wearing her uniform because it was the closest thing to her when she'd ran back to her room to change.

'_I could try!' _She opened her phone and dialed his number. After three seconds, he answered, causing her heart to skip a beat.

"_Hinata?" _ Hearing him say her name so casually made her want to smile, but she instead used her happiness to gather the confidence to ask.

"U-uhm! Co-could I ask you of a f-fav-favor?"

"_Why are you panting so hard? It's kinda creepy." _But on the other end of the line, he was smiling.

"P-please help me cl-clean some cars!" Naruto's confusion was clearly depicted in his voice.

"_Cleaning cars!? Why would I do that?" _

"Please… I-I need your help…"

"… _Fine."_ She heard him sigh, but smiled knowing that he was going to assist her.

It only took a few minutes after she gave him the address.

He made his way over to the car, noticeably slowing down when he fully began to comprehend what he would be asked to do. He straightened his shirt and jacket out of habit when faced with something he was unaccustomed to doing, his lean, slightly hunched silhouette tightening in order to make himself less noticeable, which would normally work in a crowd, alas, none were to be found outside this particular car.  
His tired-looking eyelids floated lazily on the horizon of his jade-green irises like a handmade raft, doing his utmost to not give anything away. He lifted the brim of his hat in order to part the sunflower bangs that revealed his face in zig-zags and stroked his well-defined jaw, his fingers, perfect for playing piano softly gracing the whiskers on his cheeks. His idle expression and relaxed posture gave away an aura of aloofness, (as well as hotness).

Hinata's eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly averted her eyes and looked elsewhere.

'_I've never thought about how cute Uzumaki-kun is…'_

"I don't think I'm dressed for this…" He looked down at his fashionable clothing, defeated.

"I told you we'd clean a-"Before Hinata could finish her sentence, Naruto had already picked up the high pressure wash and rolled up his sleeves.

"We need to do this fast, or the water will freeze on the car before we can finish." Hinata was amazed by his will to assist her despite his nice clothes.

"B-but… Your clothes…" He grinned.

"Don't worry!"

After a while of cleaning, Naruto finally understood how to work. They gave the car back in a perfect state, earning a bonus from the customer. But when Hinata split the tip, Naruto declined her offer.

"I don't need money."

"B-but…"

"Really, I don't." He looked almost melancholic, but Hinata couldn't handle being given so much money.

"Then… At le-least don't p-pay me fo-for cleaning yesterday." Naruto opened his mouth to talk back, but eventually closed it, realizing that it was for the better.

"Okay, then." He glanced at her as they walked into the store next to the car wash. It was then that he noticed that her throat was completely exposed for the cold to ravish.

"Forgot your scarf?" He said while paying for hot chocolate for the both of them. Hinata zipped up her jacket and lowered her eyes to the floor.

"I d-don't have one…" When he looked down at her, he couldn't help but pity her. He was, however, impressed by that she didn't complain about the cold even once. He, on the other hand, must've been as annoying as a retarded little baby.

'_I really should watch my mouth.' _

But even as they parted, Naruto couldn't stop thinking about Hinata's sad expression when she told him that she had no scarf.

"Th-thank you so much for today!" She bowed low, but Naruto failed to return it. He stuck his hands in his pockets and huffed.

"No prob."

'_Why doesn't she just buy one?' _He thought.

'_He didn't tease me even once today…' _She thought.

* * *

Hinata entered Naruto's apartment on a late Monday afternoon. The weather was as bad as usual, and the thermometers displayed a low number ten on their scales. She shook frantically as she struggled to get a grip of her stale shoes in the hallway.

Naruto was enjoying his favorite Tv program as usual. It seemed to appear at different times, because last time she saw it was on a Wednesday. Today was Monday. Perhaps it was on Mondays _and _Wednesdays? That would be strange. And besides, who watches _Scariest Serial Killers _at six thirty? This was the perfect time for little boys to watch anime or little girls to watch high school dramas!

"I'm here…" He didn't answer her, he probably didn't hear.

"I-I'll start with you-your kitchen… I-it's probably a mess." She began walking, but was kind of curious as to why Naruto wouldn't answer her. It wasn't like him. Normally, he'd shut the TV off and charge up to her, throwing his best insult or pickup line at her before she could even take her shoes off.

But who was she to claim that it was _normal?_ It's not like it was a routine…

That being said, throughout the whole time she cleaned and cooked, Naruto didn't say a single word. He didn't eat, either.

'_Maybe he's mad because I made him clean cars… I should apologize, but I don't want to disturb him…' _She stood up and walked towards the entrance where she'd hung her coat.

Still no reaction.

'_I'll send him a message, then…' _She opened the door while putting her now softer leather shoes on. It was then that a quiet voice coming from the living room was just barely heard.

"Hinata…" She shivered. Was he possessed?

"Y-yes…?" He got up and approached her with slow, reluctant footsteps. In his hand, he held a box wrapped in colorful paper with a multicolored ribbon. A… Present?

He held it out to her.

"Here. Happy birthday."

"O-oh, uhm… I-it's not m-my bir-"

"It was a joke, just take it!" He pushed it into her arms and turned around. She couldn't help but wonder why he was so mad. Her birthday was in December…

Nevertheless, Hinata gracefully opened the present, making sure not to rip the paper too much. She lifted the lid of the box and pulled out the piece of cloth inside. It revealed to be much longer than she'd expected and even though she held it a meter above her feet, it was shriveled up on the floor. Hinata flung it up in the air and tried to catch the middle of it. The soft material caressed her fingers as she gripped it.

A scarf…?

"You didn't have one, you said." Hinata's eyes opened fully. She was so surprised, her body wouldn't move.

"A scarf…" Hinata whispered.

Silence.

"You… Don't like it?" Naruto turned around, and his annoyed expression quickly turned to shock and he uncrossed his arms.

"Wh-why are you crying? Was it that bad?!" Hinata shook her head, but the tears wouldn't stop falling. It was true, most of the time when someone would cry, it would be because something sad had occurred. But sometimes, very seldom, it would be because the person was overwhelmed with happiness.

This was one of those rare moments.

The tears dripped off her chin and landed on the scarf, blending into the cloth and darkening its color. Instead of speaking, because she knew she'd sound like an idiot, she smiled.

"Th-thank you so much…" Her first present. The only one she'd ever received in her whole life.

And that, was the very first gift she ever received from Naruto.

There were many more to come.

* * *

I think I've had to rewrite this last part around three times now. I keep pressing the back button, and for some reason my computer goes to the page before! It erases everything I've written so i need to start over!

Please don't be mad about the lack of romance! Give me some time!

**Also, don't forget to review**! It means so much to me.

Speaking of reviews...

Hinata gets a fever on her way to Naruto's house. She collapses and Naruto worries about her...

"You can't go out in this state. Just stay the night here."

But little does Hinata know, her sleeping face is cute, too cute for Naruto to resist!

**Next chapter: One-sided Kiss**


	5. One-sided Kiss

Hej, Holá, Hi, Ossu -

Welcome to chapter 5! You cannot **imagine **how happy I when I read all of your reviews! I believe that this story will be a lot more unpredictable than my other NaruHina High School story was. This will really throw you off your feet – trust me!

I usually write these chapters from 12 am – 4 am, but I'm trying very hard to reread and correct the errors. I don't like to make mistakes…

My friend is once again helping me with the super cool parts of my chapters! He's on a completely different level than I am, so his descriptions are heavenly!

Anyway, here you go!

* * *

**Chapter Five – Mid-February – One-sided Kiss**

* * *

The rain splashed against rooftops and streets like a hail of bullets. She really wasn't prepared for that the weather would suddenly make a turn for the worse, much less that it would rain. February was a weird month.

She was already drenched in water from head to toe after only running from the local library to Naruto's apartment complex. Her leather shoes would certainly mold, and her uniform would need to be washed thoroughly due to the water from the rooftops pouring down on her earlier. The moss, dirt, bird feces and sticks were all a part of her at this point, but she was so cold and desperate to find heat at this point, she didn't really care.

She unlocked his door and ran in after opening, throwing her shoes off and closing.

Hinata stopped herself from accidentally planting her face into his chest as he calmly strutted around the corner, he was oddly... dressed down.  
His shoes, whilst modern and classy, looked decidedly rugged and unpolished. His pants which encompassed his lean legs were pinstriped but noticeably weathered and modest. His toned upper-body was teasingly shown off through the unbuttoned top of his flannel shirt, exposing a modest deal of his well-defined chest, the sleeves were rolled up, his slim arms nicely complementing his piano-hands. On top, he wore an old-timey, open vest that hugs him perfectly, although strangely plain for him. Top his sunflower hair, rested another hat, bigger and more friendly looking than before, sorting his hair into his trademark zig-zag format.

He walked beside her whilst twitching his whiskers with a sly grin that meant whatever the onlooker wanted it to mean. His eyes, like blue glass were shown off just a little more than usual, with his eyelids floating higher than before.

"Woah, you're wet. Are you cold?" Hinata's teeth chattered, as if answering his question. His grin faded into a vague smiled and he unclipped the soaked ribbon of her uniform. His hands slid down and began unbuttoning her now black blazer. As he pulled it off, he felt the weight of all the water it had soaked up and secretly scolded her for not just removing it before. It was clearly a contributing factor to why she was so cold.

'_I can't make her wear the maid costume in this state…' _

Hinata watched him with observant yet tired eyes, too nervous and scared to move, but she wanted to trust him. She wanted to believe that he wouldn't do more than he had to, but she certainly thought to well of him. Naruto's fingers trailed down to the hem of her skirt and slowly unzipped the side. Hinata instinctively grabbed the hem and held it in place with her shaking arm.

"P-please… D-do-d-d-d-o-do-" Naruto hid his face and stepped back.

'_What am I doing…?' _

"I'll bring you something to change into." His words were abrupt and short. He left, and after a few minutes of what sounded like Naruto ransacking his room, he came back with a sweater and a pair of long, loose pants.

"I don't have any… Uh…" he blushed. "Underwear…" Hinata's face reddened as well.

"O-o-oh… I-I think I w-wi-will be o-oka-okay…" A wave of worry swept over him. She looked like she was getting sick, because her cheeks were very red.

"Do you have a fever…?" He raised his hand and lifted her fringe away from her forehead. Just as he was about to use his other hand to check her temperature, he became aware of that he was seeing her full face.

'_Wow…' _

Hinata tried to pull away, but he grabbed hold of her shoulder with his other hand.

"Wait!" Perhaps frightened by his raised voice, she stopped moving and kept her eyes at a low level.

"This is the first time I've seen your whole face…" He gazed at her, taking in her features. Just as Naruto was getting lost in his own imagination, Hinata stifled a sneeze and he snapped back to reality. Her face was as red as the finest of tomatoes. She closed her eyes to avoid becoming more aware of the situation than she already was.

"I'll buy you something, so please use the shower to wash off, okay?" Hinata nodded, not really understanding what he was meaning to buy. Without waiting for a verbal answer, Naruto took an umbrella and fled the apartment. Hinata held the clothes closer to her chest as she watched him slam the door behind himself. He seemed somewhat… How should she put it… Excited? Worried?

'_She was actually… Really pretty…' _

But the words hadn't quite registered in her head, because Hinata was far too caught up in how cold she was. Her lips had already turned into a dark shade of purple, and she was having a very difficult time moving her dead feet.

'_Uzumaki-kun is taking care of me… Even though I'm just supposed to clean… This is so unprofessional of me…' _ She dug her frail nails into the clothes and eventually started making her way towards the bathroom, using the walls to support her from collapsing.

She had never used one of those modern types of showers. The ones that, rather than with walls around it, was surrounded by glass all around. Naruto _did, _however_, _live on the top floor, which eliminated the humiliation she may have suffered if someone were to see her. But if he were to enter to wash his hands, for instance, there would be nothing but a transparent, thin string separating them. The thought of him accidentally forgetting about her presence and coming in caused her to feel dizzy. In reality, she had been feeling dizzy ever since she came home to him.

After undressing, she stepped into the shower room, which was about three meters long and one-point-five meters wide. Hinata could not seem to get used to being alone with no risk of anyone seeing her, even though Hanabi would only barge in on very rare occasions. She always felt the need to cover her chest with at least one of her arms.

There was a window seat, which Hinata found unusually comforting. She'd always thought that something so extravagant would only prove to be useless, but this time, it was perfect. She was so cold and miserable, so sitting down and not having to use her leg muscles was just what she needed.  
The shower switched on automatically and the water fell upon her like the rain outside had, only in a more gently manner. It was warm, and landed carefully upon her skin as if knowing how sensitive she was.

'_So… warm…'_

Hinata reached out and grasped one of the Shampoo bottles. She read:

'_Tsubaki Shampoo… For…Men' _She felt her cheeks grow hot again and she quickly put it back. Everything she was doing finally caught up to her.

'_I-I'm showering… At a boy's house…!'_

* * *

Naruto stepped into the lingerie store and immediately regretted it. The shop clerk looked at him, and the thought of him being a transvestite or pervert most likely passed through her mind, because she gave him a rather rude look. He decided to try to play it cool and pushed his hands deep into his pockets and walked up to the lady. But he had an odd gait. It was slightly lurching as he went, perhaps he was leaning too far forwards, it was hard to tell. It had the effect of making him stand out in a crowd, and not in a good way. The woman's suspicions seemed to be raising as she spoke to him.

"What is a boy like you doing in this store?" Naruto slammed his hands down on the desk. The rapid movement caused his hair to raise up a bit. Only a bit. An avalanche of bright blonde hair tumbled out of his hat in a tousled mess, framing his fine, handsome features. His eyes lit up the room better than the opened door and windows around them did.

The woman's eyes grew wide and her expression quickly turned to pure happiness. She seemed to change her opinion on him just by seeing how innocent and embarrassed he appeared.

"I-I need to bu-"

"I understand. What size does she have?" Naruto shook. What _size?_ The lady giggled, clearly finding his innocence quite adorable.

"How tall is she?" He used his hand to show the lady in comparison to himself. Since he was around 1,66, she must be at least five centimeters shorter. The lady asked him what size her body was, and he answered uncertainly. She ended up pulling out a couple S sizes. If Hinata were five centimeters shorter, she would've gotten the XS. Throughout the whole paying process, Naruto wouldn't touch anything but his money.

He looked around and spotted some fluffy-looking pajamas. He smiled, thinking that it would be better to give her those rather than his oversized ones, but something inside of his mind told him not to do it.

'_I wonder if she's warmer now…'_ The store clerk giggled again.

"Oh dear, are you having naughty thoughts?" Naruto's eyes widened and his face turned beet red.

"N-no! Just let me pay, stupid hag!" She laughed at his lame insult.

"Have fun!" Naruto didn't turn around to see her wink as he left the store with the pink plastic bag held tightly in his hand.

'_This really isn't like me…' _

"Look at that cute guy!"

"Yeah! Oh, wait – is that a lingerie bag?"

"Aww, for his girlfriend?" The both sighed.

'_Girlfriend? Hardly…' _He cast his eyes downwards, somewhat saddened by the reality of things.

* * *

When he finally returned, Hinata was sleeping in the sofa wrapped in his bathrobe and several blankets. He smiled, glad that she didn't do something stupid like put her uniform back on or hide in the bathroom and wait for him to come back before asking for permission to use his towels.

She looked so comfortable, he didn't want to disturb her. Naruto walked carefully over to her and sat by the edge of the sofa, watching her as she slept. He listened to her steady breathing and sighed contently, inhaling and enjoying his scent on her.

Her hair was quite an unusual color. Not that he had any right to say so himself. It seemed to be the kind that would just fall naturally into a beautiful position. To test his speculation, he lifted the towel off her head and a tangled mess of dark-purple curls emerged from the wet cloth.

'_Her hair… Is curly?' _Naruto placed the towel on the floor and stood on his knees, looking down at her gorgeous sleeping face. He quietly pushes some of her hair away from her eyes.

Suddenly, her eyelids began to batter, and while slightly cracking open, Hinata was exposed to the sigh of Naruto right above her. She stayed silent for a moment, and Naruto thought for a second that she was okay with it, but then her face turned completely crimson and her eyes closed again.

"W-what?" He asked himself.

'_Did she faint?' _He waited a second, and her eyes opened again. He placed a hand on her forehead closed his eyes to focus on her heat.

'_She's burning up!' _But when he reopened his eyes, hers were closed. She almost looked dead.

"Why… Does she keep fainting?"

Hinata woke up for the third time and Naruto quickly used this moment of her consciousness to express his thoughts.

"You can't go home when you're this sick. I'll tell your dad that you're staying o-"And she was dead. Again. He decided to put matters into his own hands and used her phone to call Hiashi.

After a few seconds, the voice of someone sounding very strained was heard from the speaker.

"H-Hinata, I need more seirogan…" Naruto's eye twitched. He tried to keep his composure and not laugh at the fact that her father was suffering from diarrhea and bit his lip as hard as he could before responding.

'_I'll just have to pretend like I'm the teenager of the family she's babysitting.'_

"Good evening, sir. This is the Uzumaki residence." He heard the old man gasp, most likely because of what he'd previously said when he thought it was Hinata he was talking to.

"Hin-" He stopped himself.

"Hyuuga-san has fallen ill, so i- we were wondering if it's alright for us to keep her here overnight?" Her father seemed to think for a while, but then he gasped again.

"Al-alright! I'll leave her in your hands! I need to return to my du-duties now!" And then he hung up. Naruto couldn't hold in his laughter and burst into a fit. To think that someone as serious and prude as Hinata would have a father like him was hilarious beyond imagination!

But for now, Naruto would leave her to sleep.

* * *

"Man, do I hate studying."

At ten in the evening, he had finally finished all of his homework and test preparation. Naruto subconsciously ran a hand through his lively hair and let out a long, exasperated sigh. Then, the sound of vibration reverberated throughout the room, and his eyes glided over to where his phone was located. He approached it and looked through the many messages he'd received, none of which were especially entertaining to read. He never felt like using his phone when Hinata was around, really.

'_Hinata…' _His eyes eventually found where she was lying. Her breathing had an odd effect on him. The gentle rolling of her chest repeats over and over again, looking identical every time. He quietly sneaked over to her undisturbed form just for a closer look at her face. It was odd, really, her face looked a bit like a porcelain mask, perfectly symmetrical, her paleness giving off a calming but cold radiance, that same intriguing feeling of his hands dipping into a box of ice on the middle of a scorching summer day where the air is deprived of moisture and oxygen. That chilling air, with twinkling crystals of ice, rising from her face was having the same effect on him as the tomb of ice on such a day, its seductive, yet passive temptation made it all the more desirable, it would be so easy to just...

He does it, he gives in to the temptation of the chill. His lips softly, hurriedly connected with the pale, unmoving mouth of the sleeping figure of ice, his face lingering just for a moment longer to feel that euphoric cold cloud of beauty touch his face like the hand of a ghost. He reminds himself and pulls away before his touch would melt or crack her perfect visage of calmness.

'_Her lips… They were so… soft… So… Tempting..' _He resisted the strong urge to do it again, knowing that his pounding heart and short breathing would give himself away. But now that he'd finally gotten this close to her, he didn't want to leave.

Naruto rested his head on his arms and leaned against the edge of the sofa again, the gentle material serving as a pillow singing him to sleep. His eyes eventually drifted shut and he fell into the realm of dreams.

* * *

The last rays of the elusive sun had long vanished from the windows. Hinata was lying in his couch, in a leaden, death-like slumber that, for the last few hours at least, was not perturbed by the presence of Naruto.

The silence in the room surrounded the two sleeping figures like a fresh, pristine, white blanket of snow on this winter night. But it began to stretch thinner and thinner as one of them began to wake.

"Mm…" She stirred a bit before her eyes opened and she felt a breeze of healthy air sweep through her. Somehow, she didn't feel the least bit sick.

'_Wow, I feel so much better..!' _Naruto was woken by her movement, and the first thing he did, even before opening his eyes, was sneeze. He felt disgusting, and his nose was completely blocked by unspeakable bacteria, and his throat was sore as hell. Waves of heat coursed through his blood, a cold sweat glistened in his gaunt features. His eyes were sunken and his skin sallow, everything ached, everything sagged. His small milk carton stared at him from the coffee table in front of him, he took a small sip and leaned back against the sofa.

"Ugh… I feel terrible…"

"H-how…" Naruto looked behind himself at her, and he was swept over by a tsunami of realization.

'_I-is it because I kissed her!?' _

"How c-can you be th-the sick one now?" Naruto's face was as pale as a ghost, but his cheeks were blazing hot like a bonfire. He refused to answer properly.

"I-it doesn't… matter…" He tried to stand up, but his body was weakened greatly, and he only managed to stay on his feet for a split second before falling back on the sofa where Hinata lay. She didn't think much of it, and instead helped him make himself comfortable.

"I-I'll make you something to eat!" She was about to run off to the kitchen, but Naruto quickly grabbed her by the arm. She halted in her movement and turned to look at him.

"Don't…go…" Hinata's eyebrows raised up high on her forehead, and she eventually nodded silently.

"O-okay… I'll stay." She sat down where Naruto had rested when she was sick. He closed his eyes contently.

'_Since I'm sick… It should be okay for me to do this…' _He carefully let go of her arm and instead slid his fingers through the gaps of hers and held her hand. It wasn't a strong hold, and Hinata could easily pull away if she wanted to.

But she didn't.

* * *

Thank you, thank you! No, please, hold your applause!

I'm kidding, but I hope you all liked it.

It's 3:50 here. I'm going to bed.

Upcoming...

Naruto lets his excitement upon seeing Hinata in her maid costume take over and goes one step too far. Out of embarrassment, he refuses to face her and instead leaves a note on the door:

"Sorry about before. Could I ask you to make it extra nice this Friday? ;)

Perhaps light some candles, I don't know. Something **romantic."**

**_Next chapter: Misunderstanding_**


	6. Misunderstanding

It's been a few days since i updated. I'm following a clear line of work, so i wrote this chapter partly because I wanted to tell you that i'm here and i'm working on the plot as much as I can! The chapters are short because i get to the point a bit too quickly, haha.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! It'll make your heart skip a beat!

* * *

**_Chapter six - Misunderstanding_**

"Hey, you missed a spot."

Hinata's eye twitched and her grip on the mop tightened as she pursed her lips in annoyance. Naruto would keep commenting that she'd failed to clean a certain area, and as soon as she'd prepared all of the equipment and moved over to the room he was talking about, he just acted surprised and said something along the lines of-

"Oh, I guess I was just imagining things." He leaned back in the sofa and watched her try to keep her calm.

But what was there to do? She was being paid to satisfy his needs. Whatever he wanted was to be expected of her, and if there was anything that failed to please him, she knew it would be her duty to sort it out for him. After all, this part time job had done a lot for her and her family. Her father could take days off when he was sick, and Hanabi could go shopping together with her friends. Naruto was certainly not affected by the pay, and Hinata definitely didn't have any complaints. Even if it didn't matter much to him, Naruto had made Hinata's life a lot better ever since she made the mistake of thinking she'd be his babysitter.

Remembering all of this, Hinata couldn't help but smile. She rolled up her downfallen sleeves and was prepared to work harder than ever when…

"You're sweating so much…" Naruto pinched his nose, pretending to be disgusted by the way she smelled, even though it really wasn't anything.

"R-really?" She blushed and tugged a bit on her blazer. "Maybe I should take this off, then…" He seemed to realize something, because his expression lit up.

"Oh yeah, this might be a good time." Naruto sniffled while speaking nasally. His cold from last week was still causing him problems, and he couldn't help but cough every now and then. She'd asked him how he might've caught the cold, but he never answered properly.

Hinata raised an eyebrow. Naruto stood up and walked out. When he came back, he presented her with a coat hanger and something wrapped in a black cloth under it. He pulled the cloth aside like magician would when he'd pull a bunny out of a hat.

But it was no bunny. No, it was a costume.

_The _costume.

"T-that's…!" Hinata's eyes grew wide in surprise. The maid uniform looked absolutely stunning. It would easily reach down to the end of her thighs, just above her knees, and there was no open chest like the other one. Instead, the part that would've been exposed was full of white, fluffy frills that would assure the covering of her cleavage. The only other white parts of the uniform were minor things like the end of the short-sleeves and the apron. Needless to say, it was beautiful.

"It looks great, doesn't it? Even I was shocked." Naruto knew he had made the right decision.

'_But… why would he go to this extent…-' _Her thoughts were cut off by Naruto's shoving of the uniform into her arms.

"So, hurry! Put it on, quick!" He grinned.

"A-ah… O-ok-okay…" She walked to the bathroom, closed and locked the door. He had added a pair of knee high socks and leather shoes to what she was holding. She placed everything on the toilet seat and began changing, unaware of how excited Naruto _really _was.

'_She's going to look amazing! I can just imagine it…!' _There wasn't another girl in the world that he wanted to see wearing this dress. He wanted Hinata to wear it, and her only. It would be perfect on her, because it was measured, and it took so long for him to finally be able to hand it to her and say "put it on".

The door to the bathroom opened and Hinata emerged. Naruto's eyes shot over in her directions and he was immediately knocked off his feet by how she looked. He thought he'd prepared himself! He had high expectations, too high!

But this…

The dress was more than perfect.

And together with Hinata, it became a vision that simply could not be described. In fact, he wouldn't even try. But he would say this…

"You… You look gorgeous." The words had escaped from his lips before he knew it, and her expression turned into that of pure embarrassment. The way she averted her eyes to the floor and forced herself not to smile… Did she not know it herself?

He took a small step towards her. And another. Hinata was too caught up in trying to hide her blush that she failed to notice him approaching her at an alarming pace. Only when he wrapped his fingers around her scalp did she finally look up and meet his intense gaze. His head was slightly tilted down, and his hair hung like a wisteria down onto her forehead. Without thinking, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed rather hard, but Naruto did not move an inch. If anything, she was pushed back by her own strength.

His eyes kept scrutinizing her, observing every living detail that caused his mind to turmoil so. There wasn't a tint of imperfection that could calm him down, he was only getting more and more worked up. His grip on her scalp hardened the more her stared at her.

'_Wh-what is he doing…?' _

"Nar-" Hinata would've stopped herself from saying his first name, but he did it for her. He crushed his lips against hers in a forceful manner, unfitting for his personality, but also quite understandable seeing how he'd just acted upon seeing her. It was like a side of Naruto she didn't know, and perhaps the true one.

But Hinata didn't want this…

'_No… Please, stop…!' _She pushed against him, but his other hand slid down to her back and pulled her closer to him. He wasn't himself, but Hinata couldn't do anything to stop him. She was completely unprepared. One would think that after all the hours she'd spent in his house, together with him – watching him laugh, talk and smile – that she would know all there was to know about his lips. But she hadn't imagine how warm they would feel pressed up against her own.

None of them had ever kissed before. They were inexperienced, and none of them made any move to deepen it. Their bodies were pressed together, and he had his hand in her hair, but Hinata was too reluctant to make anything work. She really, really didn't want this.

The more she resisted, the closer they seemed to get. Luckily, he kept his hand tangled in her long hair, and his other hand simply rested on her thigh, on her dress.

Suddenly, he pulled away abruptly and threw himself back. His eyes were wide in shock, like he'd just realized what he had done. He took so many steps back, he hit the counter top in his kitchen. He gasped, looked back and in one quick motion, sprinted to his room. She heard the door lock and a loud noise from inside, but couldn't bring herself to move. She raised a hand to her lips and felt the warmth from his lips on her own. It was unrealistic, absolutely unexpected, and definitely not what she wanted.

After changing back into her school uniform, Hinata left the costume in the living room and walked to the door. On it, there was a note.

"Hey, sorry about before…

_I'm really sorry, but I really need to sort my mind out. Could you… make it extra nice this Friday? Yes, the day after tomorrow. Like, light some candles or something. ;) /Naruto _

Hinata's gaze lingered on the paper, her mind wandering endlessly. Would she return? Perhaps she should quit…

'_My heart… it's pounding so hard…' _She looked down, unconsciously sharing the exact same thoughts as Naruto, who sat leaning against the door to his room with his head buried in his knees.

'_Because… That was my first kiss…' _Or, well, that's what she thought. A small seed of anxiety had been planted in Naruto's mind, and he had already begun showing symptoms.

_'I got way too close..!'_

* * *

"It's definitely her he means! Hinata, you need to support your friend and get her dressed up! She's going on a date at his house!"

"H-huh?!" Hinata regretted asking.

She'd indirectly asked Sakura and Ino about the note that Naruto had left on his door. She couldn't help but wonder what he meant, but according to Ino and Sakura, it **was definitely **her he meant. Of course, she didn't actually tell them that it was her and Naruto that it was all about, but used the typical "friend" cover-up. If they were to find out about them, Hinata would _never _hear the end of it.

Ino sat on the table, and even though her panties were clearly showing, neither Hinata nor Sakura made her aware of it, because they knew that she really couldn't care less. However, if she were to catch a boy staring for whatever reason… Well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.

Even though Sakura and Ino were two extremely pretty girls, they were more famous for being the strongest in the school. They constantly went to the gym together, which unfortunately did them no good for the after-school activities, but they enjoyed the time they could spend without having to scare anyone in their school. Hinata, on the other hand, was just an average girl who just happened to be the student council president. She really didn't consider herself to be pretty, smart or anything like that. She didn't even know why Ino and Sakura wanted to be friends with someone as strange as herself.

'_I'm really in a bad situation… What if it __**is **__me he means…?!' _Hinata's eyes grew big momentarily, but she soon calmed down, trying to reassure herself that it was another tease of his. He would _never _want to spend time like that with her.

"Maybe he wants to do _it…_!" Ino whispered, clearly enjoying the conversation. Hinata, however, wasn't having nearly as much fun as her two friends were.

"Th-that…Th-that…C-can't…" Her blush almost gave her away.

"Why are _you _blushing when it's your friend we're talking about, huh?" Ino looked confused.

"W-well, i-I ca-can unde-understand her feelings… Sh-she wouldn't wan-want that…"

"She wouldn't? Well, what _does _she wanna do, then?" Hinata thought.

"Ma-maybe… Sit, eat a-and talk…?" She suggested, as if she was answering a test question.

"Oh, so she doesn't like her in that way?" Something shook within Hinata, but she hurried to answer as to not worry her friends.

"N-no… She doesn't…" Somehow, she regretted saying that. Just when things were getting difficult for Hinata to handle, an unfamiliar voice spoke up.

"You guys look lively. What are you talking about?" Sasuke pulled his coat off, revealing his dark blazer, white shirt, blue necktie with similar patterned pants. He must've been the same height as Naruto, if not taller. Even so, Sasuke was certainly one of the shortest in the class. Most of the guys were at least 1,70.

Ino and Sakura took this perfect opportunity to talk to Sasuke. Not realizing that it was her he was directing his words at, Hinata instead gazed out of the window and watched the unique flakes of snow fall from the sky while trying to see what they looked like, even though she knew it was impossible.

'_I guess I'll go… Maybe we can make up.' _

Sasuke wasn't enjoying himself with Sakura and Ino.

Just then, Kiba came in, and unlike anyone else ever since the beginning of the term, he was wearing his summer uniform.

"Good morning!" He yelled both into the classroom and into the hallway.

"As loud as always." Sakura scowled.

"Morning, Hinata!" He yelled across the room, catching her attention.

"Are your lips swollen?" he seemed to have known she wouldn't answer, and instead asked a question that she'd be forced to open her mouth for.

"Th-they are…?" She asked, acting dumb. Of course, the canine-loving seventeen year-old believed her.

"Wow, I can't believe you didn't know!"

* * *

Friday evening. Yes, **that **evening.

'_Phew… I can handle this… It's just a date…'_

She had lit candles, bought some flowers, cooked a buffé and taken out all trash. The trash part may have been unnecessary if it wasn't for Naruto's urge to constantly buy and never wear his old clothes.

She sat in the living room and waited. Her hair was curled in the cutest way possible, and she was wearing just a little makeup. Ever since she was a little child she had never bothered with makeup, her youth made her beautiful enough. Heads would turn without her knowing, boys took notice. Her father wouldn't have allowed it, anyway.

Then, the door slowly began to unlock.

'_H-he's here!'_

All that she heard for a few moments was the sound of her feet hitting the floor. Her excited gait was suddenly met with

_... Nothing. _

He was there but with somebody else. She half-heartedly reassures herself that she's jumping to conclusions, it must be a mistake, something will be worked out. It had to.

Except it doesn't.

The situation had changed, collapsed. Her preconceptions, her hopes, her predicted future, all gone. It had all been destroyed by his hands. Those slim, bony, brutish hands that just think they can do whatever they please. She pushed her core into overdrive whilst her mind went into a lockdown. It was a self-defense mechanism, she could hear her thoughts, her emotions drooling acid, clawing and howling, beating, gnawing, bashing and ramming the steel hangar doors where she has stored her consciousness for the moment. Instead she simply flushed her mind's safe-room with air.  
Dead, meaningless, sterile air that prevented her from feeling anything but... mild disappointment. It felt fake, but it was preferable to the black biological Armageddon that wanted to eat its way into her white room, her safe-zone. What's there to do anyway? What was left of her logical algorithms kick in to maintain her dignity?

Her body follows suit, walk, walk away, until you can't see the threat any more. You can let them, the emotional monsters in later, let them have their fun. Her legs are moving on some primal instinct that has no path, simply away from what threatens to destroy her. There are other chances, she supposes. Other times, other days. Other lives. Another emotion for another lifetime. For now, nothing is preferable. Her sterile mind still fights back, says that this state of being in unnatural towards it's free-thinking nature, but what are you gonna do? Let them in? No. Just walk. It'll be okay, eventually. Another emotion for another lifetime.

She passed them both in complete silence, her head bowed solemnly like she'd just passed the casket of her mother. Naruto's shock had caused him to grow completely quiet, and he waited for a few seconds before he turned around and yelled after her as she walked down the stairs.

"H-hinata!"

But she couldn't stop herself anymore. She began running, and the tears she'd been holding back began streaming down her puffy, soft cheeks.

"Who was _that?_" The girl laughed in a mean manner.

"Hinata…!"

'_What have I done..? I just wanted to stop bothering her! I just wanted to give her some space! And now she didn't want me to? I'm so stupid, what have I done?!'_

She kept her head low as she bolted down the streets.

'_It was all just…'_

'_A big misunderstanding.'_

* * *

**_Yeah. _**

**_So, without further ado, the preview of the next chapter!_**

**_Naruto wants to sort things out, but Hinata has been working at odd hours in order to avoid meeting him. A thought strikes him and he's finally confident that his plan will catch her attention!_**

**_Next chapter: Get him out of my mind_**


	7. Get him Out of my Mind

Quick update. Next chapter will be so fun! This is when the real stuff start happening!

I attended a funeral today, which is why I hurried with the chapter yesterday so I could release this one today! I finished it at 3 a.m, so imagine how terrible I must've looked the today.

Naruto had really got himself into some deep shit, huh?

Don't worry, he'll come up with a plan.

**Edit: Yay! 100 reviews! Keep it up!**

* * *

_**Chapter 7 – Get Him Out of my Mind – End of February**_

She closed the door behind herself and locked before charging over to the elevator and telling the operator to take her back down. He seemed to have gotten used to seeing her, and smiled. It was the only thing someone of his standing was allowed to do. The elevator operator never spoke with her, he just seemed to observe and enjoy seeing her.

Well, until she started going home to him at different times.

Hinata was avoiding meeting Naruto by cleaning either in the mornings after he'd left, or during her lunch breaks. Sometimes, she'd clean before he got home. It all depended on his schedule, which was on the wall in his room. She couldn't face him after that terrible misunderstanding. She must've looked so dumb, to be all dressed up and ready to enjoy the dinner with him. And yet…

Hinata bit her lip to distract herself and stared out through the window of the elevator through her dark bangs and thought back on what had happened on that terrible night. In all honesty, she was somewhat happy. She thought she'd be able to get to know Naruto better, and sort out what he'd done before. And of course, since he'd kissed her, it was safe to assume that the note was directed at her.

'_I wonder what things would've been like if we'd met under different conditions… If he'd have become my classmate… Or if we'd sit next to each other on the bus… Anything would probably have been better than like this. I'm just a maid who cleans and gets teased by her employer, nothing else.' _But she wanted to be something else. Something more than that.

'_I really should quit.'_

Perhaps, she and Naruto could've become friends again, like they were before. Never would she have thought…

"Are you alright, Miss?" For the first time, the elevator operator spoke up. His medium-length beige hair was pushed down to his eyes by the milk-man style hat he wore on his head. He didn't look at her, but instead continued to stare straight at the wall.

"Wh-what…?" Hinata was surprised at his sudden speech, and the word was almost caught in her throat as she forced it out.

"You appear to be crying." It was only then that she felt it. The tears dripped down off her chin and crashed against the cold stone floor. She raised her hand and tried to wipe them away, but to no avail. She couldn't stop.

"The boy on floor 42 has worn the same expression every morning and night as you do when you enter and exit this elevator." Her eyes widened.

'_Uzumaki-kun… Was also sad..?' _The boy's eyes did not waver as he spoke more, once again catching her off-guard with his gentle words.

"We have arrived." The doors opened and he stepped aside, stretching his arm out towards the doors to lead her the way. She nodded solemnly and shuffled her way out, regretting that she never said anything.

'_It's not too late… is it?' _After a few slow steps, Hinata decided to spin around and say reply to the boy.

The doors had already closed and the number above them showed that he was already on floor five.

"…Thank you…"

She walked out of the building, pulling her folded scarf out of her black leather school bag. She stared at it before wrapping it around her small neck. It was a mismatch from oddments of wool and was almost twice as long as it needed to be, do that even wrapped twice around her neck she still almost trod on it as she climbed the stone stairs to the bus stop.

The ice covered the road at the corner like death's welcome mat. It was black and impossible for her to see, waiting for some stressed commuter in a hurry to get to work. Where Hinata was walking, however, there were only thin frozen puddles that would do nothing but shatter beneath her shoes as she stepped on them. The bitter cold seeped through her mittens, numbing her fingers until they felt thick and stiff, unable to handle the button at the top of her coat. She decided to make the most of cracking the thin ice, because by next month, the thaw would have begun and those will be no more than shallow pools of frigid water, not even deep enough to splash in.

An ambulance passed her.

The flashing red lights that parted crowds of cars as a knife that cleaves through melted butter, its mere presence signifying the misfortune of another, the sight that causes people to pray regardless of their mood or religion. The screeching tires and the keening wail of the siren, madly barreling through the streets in the hopes of saving one more life as the screeching echoed even after having passed her.

She stopped and waited for the bus, taking the time she had to hope for the person's survival.

'_I'll quit. On Friday, I'll really quit.'_

As she hopped on the bus heading towards her living district, a certain blonde entered the elevator of his apartment building. He let go of the bag with all of his valuables and leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed and arms crossed. The music he was listening to escaped through his earphones as he turned the volume up and sighed.

He sighed again.

And again.

"You know which floor I wanna go to. Why aren't we moving?" The frown he constantly wore around just about everyone he knew was ever present.

"Pardon my hesitation." The operator pushed the '42' button and retook his posture. After a few seconds, Naruto paused his music and eyed the man in front of him.

"Was she here again?" His question demanded nothing but an answer.

"She just left, sir." He was not affected by Naruto's venomous tone. "The second girl you brought last week cried all the way down to the first floor."

"I don't care about her." Naruto's voice was cold and unusual for him. He wouldn't normally even talk to his elevator operator, but today he knew that this man had the answer he needed.

"I see. Well, the girl who just left was crying, too." Naruto's eyes relaxed and he lowered his eyes to the floor.

"I don't understand what she got so worked up about…"

The elevator operator seemed somewhat confused, and was most likely under the impression that Hinata was his girlfriend, and that he'd cheated on her with the other girl he'd brought home the week before. He made no effort to question Naruto, and instead informed him of their arrival.

"We have arrived." Naruto picked his bag up and left the elevator without looking back. He unlocked the door and entered. Before he put his bag down, he made sure to press the button he kept forgetting about, and the door automatically shut.

"Ugh…" instead of placing his shoes nicely on the edge of platform, he threw them across the floor and ran in. He tossed his heavy blazer on his coffee table, knocking the candles from last week off and causing them to crash onto the floor. He opened the wardrobe, grabbed whatever clothes he could find and lunged them in all directions. Some landing in a pile, some not.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do!?" Like an answer to his question, he was met by the last piece of clothing in his wardrobe.

The maid uniform.

All his anger seemed to vanish into thin air as he remembered how beautiful Hinata had looked when she first tried it on for him.

'_Hinata…' _

What was there for him to do? He couldn't even understand why she ran away in the first place!

"I need to think about this…" He walked to his sofa and sat down in the mess he'd created. His clothes were spread out all over the apartment, the shoes had left a trail of dirt across the otherwise clean floor, and the candle wax had dripped onto and stained his blazer.

And yet, there he sat.

Suddenly, an idea was born inside of him.

'_I have a study day this Friday… It might just work.'_

Having come up with a plan, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Hinata's reaction once he'd put it into action. But after a little while, his pride dissipated and left him with the feeling of guilt tugging on him in all directions.

'_Please, forgive me.'_

* * *

On that Friday afternoon, Hinata was making her way towards Naruto's home. She finished at one, and he would finish at five. She had plenty of time.

The sky was clear, but slowly darkening. This was most likely going to be the coldest day of the winter, and at -2 degrees, Hinata was sure that it would be written about in the newspaper.  
Cold licked at her face and crept under her clothes, spreading across her skin like the lacy tide on a frigid winter beach. With purple lips tinged with blue and gently chattering teeth, she wrapped her wool coat around her tighter. The scarf she wore pushed against her lips, the feeling of it somehow causing her to remember the kiss she'd shared with Naruto.

'_He… Really is a player…' _

As soon as she entered the apartment building after being happily welcomed by the doorman, she entered the elevator and passively told the operator to take her to Naruto's floor. The contrast between outside in the blistering cold and the heated elevator caused her fingers to numb and feel as hot as fire. She tried to cool them by pressing them against the window, but as soon as she pulled her hands away, they'd heat up too much again. She eventually gave up and sighed.

'_I don't really care for the cold…'_

"We have arrived, Miss." He spoke almost robotically. His neat beige hair was as well styled as ever, and Hinata couldn't help but smile at his politeness.

"Thank you…" Her words held more meaning than he knew.

Hinata shuffled over to Naruto's door and unlocked it. When she got in and had taken her shoes and coat off, she shuffled over to the living room and, once again, sighed.

'_This will be my last time here…'_

She heard a noise from the entrance room, but paid no mind. This was her last as Naruto's maid, so she'd have to make the best of it and clean better than she ever had before-

Her eyes grew enormous. She couldn't hold back her shock and gasped audibly, her hands already shaking from the overwhelming confusion.

Hinata entered every single room in his apartment, but they were all the same. She couldn't believe it, it wasn't… possible!

_**Everything was clean.**_

"Welcome." Naruto emerged from his closet.

"U-u-zu-Uzumaki-kun?!" Hinata nearly fainted when he flung the doors open and stepped out. On a better day, she might've questioned him and asked: 'what are you _doing?'_, but now really wasn't the time. Not only was his apartment completely spotless, but he was home!

"I noticed that you were avoiding me…" He dusted himself off before walking up to her. Hinata bit her lip, embarrassed.

"I-I do-don't wa-want to b-be in Uzuma-Uzumaki-kun's way anymore…" She averted her eyes to the floor and began taking small, discreet steps back, but Naruto quickly took hold of her arm and looked down at her with his large, blue eyes that she adorned so much.

"I'm sorry…" He hung his head and closed his eyes. The frown on his face was unfamiliar to her, and she could tell that he really meant it. His tone was completely serious.

"I'm so… Sorry…" But she wondered what he was implying.

"Wha-what are you ap-apologizing about…?"

"There's so much… Firstly, what… What I did when I saw you in the costume… I couldn't control myself!" He squeezed her arm a bit as he spoke, but when he saw her flinch in pain, he loosened his grip again.

"You were… breathtaking… Ugh, there's no word to describe it!" He used his free hand to run though his hair as he spoke. He seemed to so it when he was a bit embarrassed. Or not.

He really was handsome.

"And then… About the girl." Hinata's heart skipped a beat and she pulled her arm out of his hold. But, almost as if he knew she was going to do it, Naruto quickly wrapped his fingers around her arm again and tugged at her lightly to make her look up at him.

"See, you're doing it again! Why do you look so sad?" Hinata didn't know the answer herself.

"…" He understood that she wasn't going to answer, and instead sighed and let go of her.

"You're not leaving tonight. Today, _i'll_ be the one doing everything!" He extended his arms and grinned, expecting her to immediately lighten up and smile back. All he got was a cocked eyebrow of confusion.

"Y-you..?"

"That's right! I cleaned, took out the trash, cooked and prepared movies for us to watch!" His grin wouldn't fade, so Hinata instead decided to allow herself to smile a bit for him. At the sight of it, Naruto felt obliged to say something. His cheeks flushed red and he pursed his lips together in deep thought.

"O-oh… Uh… Well, Hinata… You're…"

"Hm…?" Hinata tilted her head to the side.

"I kinda like you." He said it. He _really _said it!

"I like you too." She replied. Naruto knew immediately that she clearly didn't understand what he really meant, because she was smiling and not blushing even the least bit.

"Oh." Was his reply.

"Uz-Uzumaki-san has helped me s-so much… But… I ca-can't keep doing this." After recovering from what he assumed was a subconscious rejection, Naruto looked back down at her with curiosity playing upon his eyes.

'_Seeing him with that girl… It was too painful to watch…' _

"If it's about bring that girl over…" Naruto took her hand in his and intensified his gaze, making Hinata blush. She was so simple, yet so sophisticated. Her embarrassment never went unnoticed.

"Well, let's just say I don't like her that way!" He changed his mind mid-sentence.

'_I'll tell her again when the time is right…' _

"W-what?"

"Anyway, have a seat!" He picked up the remote control and turned the television on. The screen lit up and a reporter was the first thing Hinata took notice of.

"_The conditions here in Iran seem to only worsen. Today two bui-"_

"Right, that's definitely not appropriate." He changed the channel to a movie type and was immediately forced to change again when he noticed it was some form of hard sadism/masochism with an adult rating. Hinata was too focused on observing her clean surroundings to notice, though.

He kept flicking through the channels, trying to find a good one to have in the background as they talked.

Suddenly, Hinata sniffed the air a few times before speaking catiously.

"Hm… S-so-something smells burnt…" Naruto looked to her.

"Burnt?"

"Yeah." He didn't think much of it.

"Oh-" But then it hit him. "BURNT?!" He threw himself up from the couch and bolted into the kitchen, but it was already too late. The microwaved steak and the metal plate it was on had exploded, throwing all of the neatly placed plated and eating utensils off the originally clean countertops. A knife flew in his direction and embedded itself in the wall right next to his head. He stared at the abomination he'd created after just trying to make the simplest of all dinners.

Just then, Hinata came into the room.

'_I just wanted to take responsibility for once…'_

"Ah! W-wh-what is this?!" She was clearly taken aback by the horrendous sight before them.

"Do you like gyoza?" Hinata nodded.

"I-is it alive?"

"Don't think so." Hinata approached the pile of leftover kitchen parts and began picking the porcelain up one by one. She studied each piece, inwardly amazed by their famous creators.

'_I really just wanted to make things a bit nice… But now… She still ends up helping me…'_

"I'll be back." He turned, his lowered gaze causing his eyes to be hidden behind his zig-zaggy hair. Naruto wouldn't want her to see his expression.

'_I wanted to apologize properly to her…' _

Hinata didn't hear him leave, because she was too busy cleaning up the mess. Once she'd picked up every plate she could possibly locate with her blind eye, Hinata moved on to washing it all. She thought back to what it was that made it all happen and felt the happiness coming back to her. A giggle built up inside like so much water behind a dam, making her shoulders shake and her belly hurt. When it erupted from her mouth, it sounded more like an old hag as she fought to stifle the tears.

"You tried to microwave metal…"

'_I think… I can stay here a bit longer.'_

* * *

"Here, I ran down to the nearest 7-11 and bought some snacks. I'm sorry I couldn't make anything nicer, let alone buy anything. I was in such a hurry to get back to you… I couldn't make you wait for my own selfish needs." Naruto kicked the door closed, because his hands were full with microwaveable food and a plethora of snacks. Luckily, they both had very fast metabolism, so eating something like this would hardly affect them.

"O-oh…" Hinata turned around and tried her hands on the towel next to her.

"Come." He walked back to the living room and sat down. Hinata followed him and sat, but at a slight more distance than normal out of pure anxiety.

"I think we should sort this out, okay?" Naruto looked at her with a serious expression, so Hinata did nothing but nod.

"I will _never _bring another girl over again. I promise. I was u-" Naruto stopped himself.

'_If I tell her I was using her, she'll probably get upset.' _

"She wasn't my type at all." Hinata nodded, understanding.

"I'm sorry… I didn't think about it… It was so rude of me. And I really should've made the note less cryptic, but I was so stressed and embarrassed right then…

After he'd kissed her.

"…Mm…"

"Do you… forgive me…?" Hinata nodded again. It should be fine. Everything somehow felt okay again after she started spending time with him again.

In the end, they talked throughout the whole evening about things completely irrelevant to what their minds were wanting them to really ask each other.

. .

. .

..

_Do you have anyone you like?_

"I'll see you on Monday." Naruto waved to Hinata as the train approached. She smiled and got on while waving back to him. As soon as the doors closed, she sat down and began contemplating everything she'd been thinking about.

'_He apologized, I think I can trust him now. But… I really wonder what it was that made me feel like that… I'd normally just continue cleaning like nothing, but seeing those two together made my chest hurt… so bad…' _She placed her closed fist over her chest and closed her tired eyes.

'_**Why… Why can't I get him out of my mind?'**_

* * *

Next chapter will be fun!

Hinata wonders why the door to Naruto's apartment is unlocked when she knows for a fact that he isn't home. She opens the door and sees…

.

.

.

.

Naruto's…. Parents!?

**Next chapter: She's finally growing up**


	8. She's Finally Growing up

Alright, I know it was pretty cryptic in chapter six, but Naruto did what he did to try and distract himself from Hinata. He noticed that what he was doing was scaring her, and so he decided to take another girl home in an attempt to distance himself from her. Chapter seven is to prove that he didn't do it to make her jealous. He didn't understand that bringing her home would make Hinata sad.

So, he realized he was a jerk for doing it and just tried to make things right.

Anyway, this chapter will include **a lot, **so hold your hats and prepare for something _really _interesting! I've been looking forward to this, so I hope you all will like it!

Also, I'd like to thank you for all the reviews! I _always _read them! If you have any questions, please, don't hesitate to ask!

My friend helped me with Naruto's descriptions again _ He's too kind! Breezewhiskers, guys! Breezewhiskers!

* * *

_**Chapter 8 - She's Finally Growing up– Early March**_

* * *

Finally, Tokyo was getting warmer.

Hinata pulled her blazer off and placed it on the back of her wooden chair. Beneath it, she'd been wearing a white long-sleeved shirt which was, like the rules stated, tucked in her checkered skirt.

Even though it was only ten degrees, the classroom was much warmer, and Hinata was _actually _the last one to take some article of clothing off. She was also the _only _one to not roll her skirt up.

'_We end in two weeks…' _She took notes as the teacher spoke, but occasionally looked out of the window with a long, distant gaze. Hinata could easily get lost in the view, but something that caused her table to shake slightly prevented her from doing so.

"Hm..?" She looked down at her desk and saw a small paper resting on the side closest to Sasuke, who sat to her right. When she looked at him, he smiled and moved his index finger back and forth, which could either have meant that he wanted her to open it, or that he wanted her to pass it on. Hinata obviously thought he was meaning to send it to Kiba, who today sat behind her because the teacher moved him for behaving inappropriately with his friends. Either way, she turned and placed it on his desk, to which Kiba picked up and opened it.

'_You look pretty today.' _Kiba cocked an eyebrow and blushed slightly.

'_I-I look_ _pretty?' _Sasuke glanced at Hinata in the corner of his eye. She was working in her book with no paper in her hand, and no blush spread across her cheeks. Seeing Kiba look so worked up, Sasuke wondered if maybe she'd…

He looked back, the fear in his eyes escalating as Kiba came into his view.

The paper was in_ his _hand!

Sasuke panicked and stood up. He took a long stride and in one motion, swiped the paper out of Kiba's hands and sat back down. This, of course, made Kiba realize that the paper was written by him.

'_Uchiha thinks I'm… Pretty?' _Kiba stared at Sasuke for an eternity.

"Uchiha-san, what are you doing?" He bowed his head in humiliation. Hinata couldn't understand what had happened at all.

'_I've never thought of giving him a shot. Wait- that would make me gay, which I know I'm not… I think.'_

"I'm sorry, sir." In response, the teacher let out a sigh and continued his lesson, something a teacher in Naruto's school would **never **do.

"Jyo, what are you doing?" The teacher had asked. Jyo stood up and bowed as low as he could without hitting his head in his own desk.

"I'm sorry, ma'am!"

"See me after class. You will clean the board, put away the sports equipment _and _show up to school on Saturday." With the textbook in her hand, the female teacher walked over to Jyo's table and picked the piece of paper up. She then did what all students who passed notes around feared the absolute most.

"_Hey, this class is soooo boring! Let's sneak out and go play video games at my house!"_ After reading it aloud, she tore the paper in half and glared down at the scared, freaked out and shocked Jyo, who was defenseless against her will.

"Let's add a few months of daily detention and toilet cleaning." Jyo gulped.

"O-okay, ma'am."

"Now, will you read this part about the Swedish "Midsommar", Uzumaki-san?" She started walking again, causing the people she passed by to put away their phones as soon as she began to near them. Since she was Swedish, she always took whatever chance she could get to make her students talk about how great her country is.

Naruto stood up and took a deep breath before reading the page. His English was amazing, and he always impressed the teachers. Although he had a hard time pronouncing some Swedish words, his English was on "A" level.

"In June, we celebrate something called Midsummer.—"Fortunately, Hinata's class didn't have a biased English teacher. He just enjoyed talking about himself a lot.

"Hah! And that's why you'll never get a girlfriend, guys!" All the boys in the class sighed in unison. Asuma would never stop talking about irrelevant things.

"I, on the other hand, have had _a lot-"The_ bell rang, indicating that class had ended. Everyone stood up, gathered their things and escaped from the room before Asuma sensei could have any time to realize that he'd been cut off. When he did, he walked out stopped a group of boys in the hallway to continue his egotistic speech.

"Hinata!" Sasuke finally caught up to Hinata, who had already hurried down to her locker. She turned her head and watched him inhale sharply for the air he'd lost while running after her. His raven hair stretched down towards the floor, but never reached anywhere near it. His hair was short, after all. At some parts, at least.

He straightened himself and looked down at her. His eyes were different from Naruto's, because while his were dark like the midnight, and even though they held no special color like Naruto's did, Hinata felt how deep and mysterious they were when she gazed into them.

"You don't talk a lot, and you always speed out of school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Why won't you stop to talk to someone for once? Ever since the last term begun, you've been acting weird." She raised her eyebrows to match her somewhat more open eyes. He noticed?

Was there someone who actually _cared _about her here other than Sakura and Ino?

"I-I.." She suddenly found the floor very fascinating.

"Argh… That turned out so rude… What I'm trying to say is that I'd like to talk to you more. You, and **not** your friends." He exhaled, all of his anxiety from before leaving him along with the air he let out. This time, her eyes actually opened as much as they could and shot up to meet his. But as soon as they did, he looked away.

"Y-you…" She stuttered. He pulled out his Samsung Galaxy S5 and held it up.

"Wanna exchange numbers at least?" He flashed her a cheeky smile and she, without really knowing why, returned it.

'_Uchiha-san seems so kind… I wonder what things would be like if I were to have met Uzumaki-kun in this way?'_

She took out her phone and they added each other to their contacts. Neither of them used Facebook.

This Friday was a good one, and Hinata left with a smile on her face as she began her usual trip to Kasumigaseki, which was as boring as ever, but…

"Oh, Hinata-chan!" As soon as she stepped on the train, Hinata heard someone call her name.

'…_Chan? No one uses that…'_ She spotted Shouta, who was waving for her to come over at the far end of the cart. He wasn't wearing his wool coat this time, just a red cardigan, a white shirt and a dotted tie. His pants were checkered, grey and black.(There isn't a name for it, in Japanese it's called 学生服 which translates to School uniform.)

"Ah, Namikawa-san." She walked over to him and sat down in the free seat beside him.

"Afternoon." He smiled and leaned back in his seat. She took note of his open cardigan and wondered if it was because it was warm, or because he didn't wear it properly. Whenever Naruto came home, his cardigan, blazer and coat would always be buttoned accordingly.

Their eyes met.

His were green. The kind of green that pushed its way through the piles of gritty snow to remind you that spring was coming. The kind of green that budded on the prisoners of winter, bringing life back to their branches. That churning, passionate green that the ocean turns during a storm. That color of the forest after it rains. The color of the tadpoles making ripples in the pond. That green shade that brings hope and life no matter what has happened. And looking into those eyes, she could see it. And he knew that she could.

He would describe her eyes as the most wonderful ones. They were lavender, mostly, but darken to grey in correspondence to her mood. She seldom smiled at him with her lips, but it was her eyes that shone instead, and it was that very same radiance that made every man and woman who saw it feel the irresistible impulse to smile, too, for this smiling of the eyes was the most sincere and pure emotion that Hinata would show, even if she didn't want to show it. The eyes never lie – If he could say but four words to advise someone on how to understand someone's thoughts, those would be the four he'd chose.

She turned her head to the side to avert her gaze, but the sudden rosiness of her cheeks gave her away. Staring so intently at a boy she barely knew was one of the most embarrassing things she knew of.

"You have pretty eyes." He said, somewhat surprised, assumingly by their unusual color. Her face then became the color of a bad sunburn.

"Th-th…"

"Oh, look at those two." An old lady spoke to her friend and giggled.

"How adorable! These are the best kinds of high school couples! You can tell that they'll stay together forever!"

"They will marry, and have children…" They whispered and giggled among themselves like little schoolgirls, and Hinata and Shouta were even more embarrassed than before. They couldn't even talk to each other anymore, let alone look at each other. At least not until the name "Kasumigaseki" was heard from the speaker.

"Th-this is my stop…" She stood up robotically.

"O-oh… Bye." He kept his head low when she got off the train and didn't do anything else until he knew she was long gone. He pushed his hand against his mouth, a habit of his when blushing way too much, and stared holes through the floor with his squinted eyes.

* * *

Hinata was blushing so violently, one could fry an egg on her cheeks.

'_Th-that was awkward… We just sat there looking at each other…' _

She shook off her feeling of strangeness and walked to the doorkeeper, who, for once, spoke to her.

"Good luck today." She didn't know how to take what he'd said, and instead just thanked him for the sake of being polite.

"Thank you…?" He let her in and smiled to himself, clearly aware of something that she wasn't. She shrugged his peculiar behavior off and disregarded the elevator operator's smile as well on her way to his apartment.

If only she'd questioned them.

"The lock… It's broken…" Hinata looked back at the operator, who appeared not to have noticed as he closed the doors and returned to floor one. She tightened her grip on her bag and pushed the door open, making sure not to make a single noise in case something bad was happening inside.

"Naruto!? Are you here?!"

'_S-someone is calling for Uzumaki-kun…! Is she a delinquent? She has… such long, red hair…' _Hinata watched the lost woman walk around the rooms as she peeked out through the closet by the door.

"Naruto! Don't hide from me, you punk!" She cracked her knuckles, clearly on the verge of tearing his apartment down. Then, a softer, manly voice spoke up.

"K-kushina… He's not home… Let's just go…"

"Ugh!" They turned towards the entrance where Hinata stood.

'_Th-this is bad!' _She tried to hide behind the coats, but a slip of the foot and she slammed her face into the wall.

"What was that?! Naruto?!" The red-haired lady, Kushina, ran to the closet and turned the light on. There, Hinata sat on her butt with a red nose and a hundred coats on her.

'_I'm done for!' _Hinata shut her eyes tightly as the woman pulled her up.

"You…" She didn't dare open her eyes.

"Are you… My son's girlfriend?" Her suddenly happy voice echoed throughout the apartment and Hinata felt forced to crack one eye open to see if she was going to get beaten or not.

Her eyes shot open.

'_She-She's beautiful…' _Kushina let go of Hinata and instead slammed her hands down on her shoulders.

"You are, aren't you?! Why didn't Naruto tell us?!"

'_W-wait… Girlfriend?'_

"He got a girlfriend?!" The man, who was left behind by Kushina, came running. He gasped when seeing Hinata inside the closet.

"Wow! Nice to meet you, I'm Minato!" He reached his hand, to which Hinata didn't know what to do about. Realizing what a weird thing it was to do in Japan, he immediately pulled his hand back and scratched his head while smiling nervously.

'_Uzumaki-kun does that too… Who are these people?' ¨_

"Sorry, we're traveling abroad so often, we're so used to hand shaking!"

"In case you're wondering, we're your boyfriend's parents!" Kushina wrapped her arm around the blonde man and pulled him a bit closer. Hinata's mind was sent reeling.

'_P-PARENTS?!' _The fact that he had parents was more shocking than that they thought her and Naruto were together.

"U-Uh-uhm…"

'_Oh no, what do I DO?! They think I'm his girlfriend! I need to tell them I'm not!' _

"I-i-I'm no-"She cut herself off.

'_But then how to I explain hiding in his closet?! Is this what the doorman and elevator operator were acting so suspicious about?!' _She was at a complete loss for words, so she just stood there beginning sentences that she never finished.

"This is amazing! Then you can come with us to the hulk!"

"Th-the hulk…?"

"Kushina! We shouldn't scare her!" Kushina laughed whole-heartedly.

"Oh, but Minato, we're leaving in two weeks! She needs to go with us! This is Naruto's first girlfriend, after all!" Kushina tugged on Hinata and pulled her into the living room with them. When they finally sat down and were about to start discussing things, a voice was heard from the door.

"What happened to my lock?!" Kushina's ears perked and her eyes shot over to the entrance.

"Just a second…" She looked confused, so Hinata quickly spoke up.

"H-Hyuuga Hinata…" Hinata could say her name, but dispelling their suspicions about her and Naruto being a thing was for some reason way too difficult for her.

"Okay, Hinata, then—" She turned around.

"NARUTO!" Her yell was like a booming bark, it made Minato, Hinata and undoubtedly jump like scared rabbits. She seemed to enjoy having that kind of power, Kushina, that was. Fires of fury were smoldering in her whole face, including her hair as she stomped over to the door and grabbed her son by his hair.

"We told you we were coming! And you didn't say anything about having a girlfriend!" Her scolding went on for tens of minutes, and by the end of it all, Naruto was knocked out on the floor while Kushina sat in the couch talking to Hinata and Minato.

"We told him three years ago that we would come today. I can't believe he didn't remember!" Hinata's eye twitched lightly.

"Ah, well – I do-don't think I cou-could remember that e-either…"

_'So they're his parents… I'm so sure he told me he didn't have any, though…'_

* * *

_**"Say..." It looked like he'd reached a conclusion. He turned to her and grinned widely. He looked so happy, and his grin was so childish, it made Hinata blush slightly.**_

_**"I don't have a little brother, so I don't really know why you're here."**_

_**His grin faded into a smirk and he approached her slowly.**_

_**'Wh-what...?!'**_

_**"Nor do I have parents."**_

* * *

That was definitely what he said! But then, who were these two? Or, did Naruto perhaps _lie?_

"Nonsense! Anyway, when did you start dating? Do you go to the same scho-" As Kushina's eyes slid down to observe Hinata's school uniform, she caught sight of the badge on her chest and pursed her lips.

"That badge…" She said, seriously.

'_Oh, yeah. She'll see that I'm not rich and then tell Naruto not to be my boyfriend because of my lack of money…' _Hinata looked into Kushina's eyes as the lady kept scrutinizing the badge.

"That _must _be from the Tokyo Y. Private School! Am I right?! I am, aren't i?" Minato nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's definitely it." Hinata dropped her jaw in shock and tried to gather words that could change their minds.

"N-no, it's-"

"Don't be embarrassed! It's an amazing school!" Kushina clasped Hinata's small hands and leaned forward.

"You seem like a wonderful young lady, I think you'll be perfect for my stupid son!" Hinata flinched.

'_Stupid…?' _ She couldn't help but wonder if Naruto said he didn't have any parents because he didn't like his.

"Anyway, Minato and I will leave on the 12th, tomorrow, so you and Naruto can leave on the 21st. We were supposed to leave the same time as you two, but now we're so excited!" Hinata still didn't know what they meant by the 'Hulk'. The only thing that came to mind was the big green beast that gave her nightmares when she was little.

Naruto's eyes opened and he immediately sat up.

"Mom! Dad! Wh-what are you doing here!?" He stood up, but quickly fell back down when hearing what Kushina said next.

"Talking about bringing Hinata to the Hulk." He smacked against the floor and stood back up.

"W-why?!"

"How rude! We're trying to invite your girlfriend with us, and this is how you thank us? Minato, book a plane early on the 21st. Minato nodded and pulled his phone out.

"M-my girlfriend!?" Naruto was voicing Hinata's opinion as well.

"Hinata?! My girlfriend?!" He looked confused and frustrated at first, but something seemed to catch his eye.

The happiness of his parents.

"You made a great choice, Naruto, we're so proud of you." He said, making Naruto's expression falter for a moment.

'_But… We're not together…'_

Kushina was grinning, and Minato was eagerly searching for a flight for Hinata and him.

His attitude changed completely, and he sat down next to Hinata after having calmed down.

"Okay, then…" Hinata looked at him, her eyes as wide as they could be.

'_O-okay?!' _She didn't know how to take his response. _'Okay for us to be together? I never… agreed to his…' _Naruto's determined expression said something she couldn't seem to understand. _'There must be a reason behind this…' _

So, for then, they had to agree to his parent's speculations. It wasn't until after they'd left that things got complicated again.

"They… Boo-booked a flight… For u-us…" Naruto placed his arm around Hinata and stared at the floor.

"Are you mad?" He asked, to which Hinata shook her head.

"B-but why di-did you agree?"

"I… I've never seen them so happy…"

"…" She watched him speak.

"My parents… They've never been proud of me…" He was melancholic, but continued.

"So please, do this for me… I just… I've always wanted to know what it's like to have proud parents…!" He couldn't look at her, it was too humiliating to ask her of it. Even though he knew she would decline, he shut his eyes tightly and leaned down a bit, hoping that she would instead accept. His mother's parting words had been: "we expect both you and your girlfriend to get on that plane."

"I-i…"

"Please!" He grasped her hand and held it in his, almost squeezing too hard.

"F-for how long…?"

"Two weeks."

"Alright. If it'll make you happy."

That night, the one after, and all the ones up to the twentieth of March were the same. Hinata couldn't stop thinking about the trip with Naruto. They would go somewhere down to the south of Japan and stay there for two weeks together with his parents. It sounded amazing, but they would be forced to act like girlfriend and boyfriend during the whole time. She couldn't stop her mind from wondering if they'd booked only one room for them. Was it normal for teenagers to sleep together?

She knew that she was doing it for Naruto's sake, but Hinata was nervous beyond belief.

* * *

One week before it was time for Hinata to leave on her first vacation without her father and sister, Naruto had been ordered by Hiashi to come and introduce himself.

His footsteps made a disproportionate amount sound compared to the amount of force and weight put behind them. With every slow step he swears he can feel his shoes sink just a little bit into the sickly skin of the stairs, he just hopes he doesn't leave a noticeable mark on her doorstep.

He rings the old bell, flakes of green nesting in the uncaring metal, he hopes that he fares better than the house and straightens his tie, making it perfectly symmetrical to his face. For a moment, he half-heartedly hopes no one will answer the call of the bell, although as life would have it, someone is always willing to open doors you're unsure of opening.

'_Hinata lives__** here?**_'

The door opened slowly.

A man stood in the small doorway, old, with long, black hair. He evaluates the intruder standing before him.

'_Firstly, he's young. _

_Unusually so, he must be somewhere around Hinata's age. The kid is wearing one of those kinds of faces, a dignified expression that treated every encounter like a poker match, only showing his cards after yours.  
Judging from his features, it would seem that he was indeed a fortunate player. His yellow hair was luscious and heavily styled in that fashion that young girls liked: unplanned and wild, yet proud like a lion's mane. His sharpened, classy eyebrows wore his oceanic eyes like a designer necklace, right where everyone could see them. Those eyes contained the same quality of the ocean, reflecting your gaze, holding back secrets in hidden depths. He has whisker marks adorning the sides of his face, curved and bouncy-looking, drawing attention to his wedge-shaped jaw, with straight edges that could cut, and a thickness that speaks of character.'_

His outfit looked like a uniform. A black tie with spots dotting the cloth sat positioned perfectly underneath his jaw. A rolled-up red jumper hugged his strong frame and gave off an impression of athleticism. His was also sporting some grey pants with a black pattern running through the threads. The black squares were plastered upon his long, lean legs without hindrance.

Hiashi wore a sturgeon face.

'_Not bad…'_

Naruto sunk back awkwardly and cast the old man a confused look.

"Your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, sir." He straightened himself and bowed hastily upon noticing that Hiashi hadn't become paralyzed.

"And your brother is being babysat by _my _daughter?" Naruto swallowed.

"Right."

"Where are your parents?"

"They have left ahead of time." Hinata came down to greet Naruto, who simply smiled when seeing her, something Hiashi took note of.

"O-oh… U-Uzumaki-kun…" Hiashi looked at Hinata, then to Naruto. And at Hinata. Eventually, the corners of his lips curled into a smile.

"You can go, daughter."

"H-huh?" Hiashi turned and walked back into the house.

"Time to get packing." Naruto's smile widened. "Oh, and don't forget your passport." Hinata was happy to hear of her father's approval, but Naruto's reminding of a passport was getting on her nerves.

"Y-you keep saying that… Bu-but we're traveling inside of Japan, so I wo-won't need it."

"Still, I want you to bring it." Hinata sighed and nodded.

"Alright…"

"Oh, and I'll handle all the candy buying! You just need to bring the nicest and warmest clothes you've got."

"Japan is s-still quite..."

As Hiashi walked further and further away from the two while still listening to their conversation, the smile he wore faded more and more.

"She…" He sniffled.

"She's finally growing up."

* * *

You see where I'm going with this?!

I hope you like it. Next chapter is where all the romance begins. The M-rated stuff requires a bit more time. Sorry to make you wait! Hope the cute fluff can cover it up!

I bet you weren't expecting an update on the SAME day!

Well, I have lots of school, and I really want this story to come to life, you know?

**Thanks!**

**P.S**

Yes, the title of the chapter is usually the last sentence of it.


	9. Let's Just Sleep

Sorry about the late update. School.

Oh my! This story has been featured in three communities! I need to breathe! Breathe!

And on top of that – we reached 100 followers! I'm amazed by the fact that one hundred people will receive a mail once I click on the "publish" button! Honestly, all the reviews I've been getting are so heart-warming, they make me so happy to read! I'm so glad I can please so many people with my writing!

Thank you!

I'm glad you all like this story! It means a lot to me, and I'm also surprised by the fact that AU's are so very popular. I mean, it's the only thing I write. It's so cool, you know?

I think it was a good thing that I forgot to add the little teaser at the end this time, because it seems to give everything away!

Anyway…

* * *

**Chapter Nine - Let's Just Sleep**

* * *

It was the 21st of March, the day after Naruto and Hinata had ended their classes and were finally on their way to the airport after giving their friends bad excuses as for why they can't hang out. Narita International Airport had been chosen over the domestic flight airport, and Hinata just could not seem to wrap her hear around why. Her father, too, had been acting strange ever since she left to catch the bus. He'd been acting pretentious, using fancy words and acting like he was a lot smarter than he really was, something he always did when he was very proud of something. But what was there to be proud of?

They were to meet at terminal five, even though domestic flights were due at terminal two. Since Hinata was early, way too early, she decided to buy herself some apple juice and a Melon Bread. Not a lot of people were flying at this time, but plenty of tourists were arriving. Most being older university students or rich-looking Indians. She'd never really figured out why Tokyo was so famous among Indians, really.

There were plasma screens of arrival and departure times on the wall of the airport. People were lined up at the check in desk with suitcases and baggage. In the background soft classical music played. In the arrivals lounge there was a curious mixture of bored and excited people. Some looked like they were waiting for a bus, others like they were children waiting for Santa himself. Some lounged on the low comfy chairs and others bounced on their toes. The wide variety of people kept Hinata entertained all the way until he finally arrived.

Stepping out of the car, with his lightweight summer shoes hitting the asphalt with a muted thud, he hoisted himself out and stood on the driveway to the airport. He straightened out his folded khaki pants, nicely showing off his active legs, long and wiry, and grabbed hold of his leather suitcase. Walking down the terminal, he readjusted the sunglasses that were falling out of his sunburst hair that was everywhere, his free hand ruffling the wild and uncontrollable haircut, drawing noticeable attention from a pack of stewardesses and a group of travelers, all female. He managed to pick up words being thrown around, like:

"What a TIGER!"

"Look at him!"

"D'ya think he's on our flight?!"

A few giggles and squeals were also heard, some of the girls were positively swooning at the unattainable idea of sitting next to this colorful anomaly in an otherwise normal airport. He flashed the group of girls a wolf-like grin, his sharp canines giving him that dangerous but oh so cuddly look. The girls blushed and several cries of happiness were thrown out, one of them even took a picture with her phone- Moving on, he unbuttoned his flannel shirt, exposing the thin t-shirt he wore underneath, hinting towards the musculature that he possessed. With his open shirt flapping in the wind, sunglasses neatly placed atop his chaotic whirlwind of hair and confident strides, he made his way toward the meeting place, suitcase swinging in his hand, the wolf-grin still on his face.

Hinata's eyes widened at the sight of Naruto's handsome figure and she quickly averted her eyes in embarrassment. She didn't know how to act now that someone as amazing as him was going to be with someone as simple and meaningless as her!

'_I should really try to be prettier…' _She looked down at her ¾ sleeved pink and brown patterned dress that reached her lower thighs as she sat, glued to the seat inside of the airport. She'd chosen it simply because of the cute collar and simplicity. The brown tights and pink, slightly heeled shoes she wore were also not very unique. She didn't want to stand out, not when she was going with someone who already caught the eye of every woman there, dead or alive.

Hiashi had insisted that she curl her hair, so she had that going for her. The princess curls in her hair seemed to frame her pale face in like a doll, and it was enough to make Naruto's eyes catch her as soon as he entered.

"There you are, Hinata!" The grin faded into a smile as he felt like he needed to control his excitement.

'_But I can't stop myself from wondering why he's dressed like we're going somewhere really warm… Japan isn't warm… Not at this time of the year…'_

"Hey – Don't ignore me! It makes me look like I just called out to a stranger!" Hinata snapped out of her thoughts and raised her eyes to meet Naruto's.

"A-ah… I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize! You're making it worse!" Naruto chuckled lightly despite himself and reached a hand out to help her out of the chair she sat in. Hinata quickly gathered her things and hesitantly took his large hand, allowing him to pull her up.

"Ooh, is that… Melon bread?" Naruto took a bite out of it from her hand as she held it before she could answer and grinned. "It sure is!"

Hinata's face darkened into a shade of crimson. She took a few steps back and held the bread close to her chest in an attempt to show how much it meant to her now.

"Wh-what are yo-you-"

"Anyway, we need to get going!" He spoke as he chewed the bread. As if it was completely natural to him, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and began pulling her through the swarm of people on their way out and around. She gasped lightly and stared intently at their hands, watching, but barely feeling how he'd occasionally give her a squeeze when a very tall person passed them. Naruto wasn't very tall himself, but he'd only react when the person he found suspicious was above the average height even for their country.

He looked so happy, like he'd really been looking forward to this.

"U-uhm, Uz-"He let go of her hand, leaving her with the cold of the atmosphere and hope of that he was just going to change his grip. But instead, he turned to her and smiled nervously.

"I'll check in the luggage, so you just wait here." He looked anxious, like he was hiding something from her. Hinata, however, took this opportunity to gussy up and smiled back.

"I'll go to the bathroom, then." She spoke carefully.

"Great! See you over there, then!" He took her trolley bag and escaped to the check-in areas. Hinata sighed and ran a hand through her fringe.

'_We're actually going on vacation together…' _She thought to herself as she made her way to the public bathrooms with nothing but a classical pink leather tote bag with a dotted ribbon on its side. Despite finding herself plain and insignificant, she earned herself plenty of fancy looks from young male tourists, including one from Naruto. He scowled at those who checked her out as they walked by, and couldn't help but inwardly scold her for dressing so adorably cute. What was she thinking?

"Yes?" Naruto looked away and held his and Hinata's tickets up. The ticketing agent glanced at it and was about to move on before catching sight of a slight error. She frowned and pointed to the desk next to her.

"You belong to first class, sir. Please move to that desk." Naruto looked confused for a second before realizing what his parents had done and pursed his lips in annoyance.

"Can't we just fly in Economy class?" His question shocked the ticketing agent and it took her a while to regain her composure before replying, somewhat annoyed.

"That cannot be arranged, Economy class is full-booked." Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

"We can switch places with an Economy class couple." The lady returned his look and answered.

"Move to the other counter, sir." Naruto moaned in annoyance and checked in as first class. The people around him were surprised, to say the least.

After he'd finished, Naruto bought masks at a small shop by the check-in area and waited for Hinata. As soon as she arrived, they passed through the security and arrived down by the tax-free shops with an hour to kill.

"Should we eat something?" Naruto asked nonchalantly as he tried his mask on. Hinata smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah, would you do me a favor now that we're traveling together?" He suddenly looked serious, so Hinata raised her eyes to his and awaited what he had to say.

"Call me by my first name from now on." She gulped.

"Okay?" Hinata forced a nod.

"N-n…" Naruto waited for her to stop stammering.

"Na-" Suddenly, the speaker cut them off.

"Due to a storm, flights to Nice, France have been delayed. Flights to Nice, France have been delayed by four hours." Naruto was quick to express his feelings, forgetting about Hinata's ignorance.

"Aw, come on! Four hours?!" Hinata cocked her head to the side.

"But, that's not…"

"Yes, it-" Naruto shook.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Hinata's eyes widened. "The Hulk is in the French Riviera." He grinned clumsily and chuckled nervously in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere and make his lie seem less severe.

"Fre-French… Ri-Riviera…?" Naruto's hands balled into fists and he started searching for someone to yell at about the flight. Hinata remained glued to where she stood, still in shock.

'_W-We're going… to France?!_

"Hey look, man! I booked a flight to the French Riviera that cost me _at least _500,000, and now you're telling me it's been _delayed _by some shitty gust of wind you call a storm?!"

"Sir…" Naruto continued, letting his anger out on the innocent man in charge of nothing but walking around and looking busy.

* * *

"It's finally here!" By the time the plane arrived, the time was already 7 p.m, and it was pitch black outside. Half of the time Naruto and Hinata had occupied themselves with games, food and snacks. The other, first half was wasted on Naruto trying to move Hinata out of the spot she'd been stuck to ever since he'd told her where they were going. He knew he should've told her, but he didn't know how to.

"First class will begin boarding." Naruto and Hinata hurried onto the plane and sat down as soon as they found their seats. This was not only the first time Hinata would be flying Business class, but also the first time she was leaving Japan. She was still quite bewildered, but Naruto had told her everything she could possibly need to know.

The seats were spacious, and unlike Economy class, had actual armrests. As soon as she relaxed, Hinata could feel her muscles melt into the well-shaped, softened seat. Her eyelids eventually began to drift shut as she allowed her tense body to be blown away by the comfort of Business Class' extravagance. Assumingly used to this kind of luxury, Naruto pushed a button, making his backrest move slowly downwards.

As soon as the plane was fully in the air, a flight attendant passed by and asked Naruto and Hinata if they wanted something to drink. Hinata requested water, and Naruto ordered a coke, but never drank it. The flight was long, twelve hours.

"So, Hinata." Naruto looked at her, his face centimeters from her due to how close to her he was leaning.

"What do you think of me?" He asked, bluntly. Hinata gathered herself quickly to speak.

"A-a very messy person." She smiled, with no intent to hurt him. He clutched at his chest as if he'd been shot and leaned back in his seat, clearly disappointed at her answer.

"I didn't mean like that…" He mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Their conversations continued to die out, no matter what they were about. Naruto's usual calm self was nowhere to be seen, and Hinata was too out of place to talk. They looked extremely awkward, and the stewardess appeared somewhat worried as she passed by them, questioning their relationship. If not for their completely different features, she would've thought they were related.

The plane drifted through the night, gliding above the sky as if it was mere paper. Since most, if not all passengers were Japanese, the lights around them were off, and the only ones awake were most likely only Naruto and Hinata. Because of their situation, they just couldn't seem to sleep. Hinata was nervous about where she was going and what consequences it would have. Naruto was just, well, happy to be with her.

"You two are a lovely couple." The stewardess seemed to have made up her mind about their relationship as she draped a dark red blanket over the two teens. She smiled warmly and Naruto, to her relief, returned it. Hinata, realizing how tired she really was, had her eyes closed and was only half-conscious.

"Thanks." He said.

"How long have you two been together for now?" Naruto averted his eyes with a slight blush and answered her.

"Almost two and a half months." Her eyes grew wide for a moment.

"That's not very long, and yet you look like you've been together for years. I hope to see you two on more flights in the future." And with that, she left, leaving Naruto as satisfied as he could be.

After that, they both slept through the rest of the flight.

* * *

"Attention. We will be arriving in fifteen minutes." The stewardess passed Naruto and Hinata, but stopped and walked back before smiling and pulling out her phone to take a picture.

They were snuggled up together, their heads being the only things above the blanket. On Naruto's side, it seemed to have slid down a bit to his shoulder, but Hinata's side was exactly the same as when she had first placed it on her. The boy moved more than the girl did in his sleep.

They were perfect together.

"It isn't often that you see such beautiful young love." An old lady on the left side of the plane smiled at the stewardess who quickly put her phone away and turned around. But she didn't seem to mind.

"Even among adults, this is quite rare." The stewardess nodded.

"They've only been together for two months." The old lady's wrinkled face rose slightly at her words, but smiling was more tempting.

"Then they really are meant to be."

They giggled together and returned to what they were doing, leaving Naruto and Hinata to wake up together. Luckily for him, he woke up first. Realizing how close they were, and that her head was resting on his shoulder, Naruto's expression changed drastically and he quickly found a way to change her position. He used his right hand to cover the blush on his cheeks to shake her into life.

"H-huh…" Hinata's heavy eyelids cracked open and she was met by almost complete darkness. If not for the lit up seatbelt symbol and distant light from a reading passenger, the airplane would've been pitch black.

"W-what is it…?"

"We're gonna land in like, fifteen minutes." She rubbed her eyes in an attempt to make them less swollen, but to no avail. The only thing she achieved was a loss of eyelashes.

'_Why… Is he looking away…?'_

"Naru…to…?" His heart skipped a beat upon hearing her call him by his first name. He bit his lower lip and tried to calm his excitement, but the smile that threatened to break his grave expression gave him only a matter of seconds to reconsider.

He turned to her and grasped her shoulders with his head bowed as low as he could without breaking his neck. No matter what, she wasn't allowed to see how red his face was at that moment.

"Don't say my name in such a cute way!" His raised voice caught the attention of a couple of passengers, whose identities became clear as they turned their heads to look at him. Naruto's embarrassment caused him to gasp quietly and he coughed abruptly for a reason Hinata would most likely never find out.

"U-uhm…" She, however, didn't hide her blush. Perhaps it was because Naruto's head was too low for him to see, anyway, or it was because she wasn't afraid to show him the faces he could make her do. It was because of him that she was blushing, and likewise for her. With that in mind, Naruto raised his head and looked at her through his bangs and pressed his lips together as if to stop himself from saying anything. Seeing her look so embarrassed made it easier for him to be.

Eventually, he smiled.

"You're blushing." He stated.

"Y-you too…" She retorted.

* * *

"And after all of this traveling, it's night even _here."_ Naruto stepped out of the airport and was met by the strange warmth that spread through his body, sliding beneath this clothes and heating his slightly cold skin up. Hinata felt herself grow much warmer than she'd been in the last twenty hours, and finally understood why he'd worn shorts.

"W-we ran into lots of trouble…"

"Because _you've _never been outside of Japan!" Naruto pulled on his T-shirt, allowing the heat to spread to his chest. He sighed, giving up on his terrible attitude towards such an innocent girl as Hinata.

"Anyway, I'll call the limo." Hinata could no longer be surprised. Naruto's family was wealthy, and she had come under terms with that. She nodded, feeling a bit uncomfortable in the humidity of France.

"Is it supposed to be this warm…?" He shook his head as he dialed the number to his driver on a different phone from his usual one.

"It should be around 10 degrees Celsius at night here, but I guess it's the storm that's making it so warm, and that this year is hotter than normal. Well, it's just good for us, isn't it?"

"I guess…"

After a few minutes, they were picked up and driven for two hours to Naruto's home in the Riviera.

The limousine slowly prowled down the driveway, pushing gravel under its tires. The dark windows made it practically impossible to see during these dark hours, no matter how close she pressed her face to the glass. Eventually she started hearing more than crumbling rock, there was a pounding noise, like fishermen stomping on the deck of their ship, although faster than what she would expect. The cold, alien car slows down, to a halt. She made eye-contact with him, he had a knowing look on his face, with a disappointed expression and disillusioned eyes. His whisker marks made his face look haggard and worn in the weak, quiet light of the limo. In a few moments, the car had stopped and the driver had opened their door for them. Naruto tiredly heaved himself out of the square passageway with some anger in his movements, like he had to get something over with. Doing her best to leave her seat as she found it, Hinata also stepped out of the car, almost looking scared as she does her best not to touch any part of the car.

As her feet hit the gravel of the driveway, she was assaulted by **noise**.

She had no idea where it's coming from for a split second, thinking it was the car but then whipping around to see Naruto looking up at the largest- looking mansion she had ever seen. Cars were parked in the circular driveway, around a marble fountain illuminated by what seems to be strobe lights, the water spewing out looked like liquidized crystal, as she could see through it perfectly. An intimidating amount of symmetrical stairs lead up to a row of pillars supporting the triangle-looking roof like some Greek temple, the glowing, yellow marble contrasting sharply against the cloudy night sky, giving refuge to the people milling about the entrance and around and inside the cars. The beating noise seemed to be flowing out of that mausoleum, she couldn't even see where it ended, and the sides of the mansion just kept extending into the folds of the night, shrouding even more party-goers.

She covered her mouth and turns back to face him. He was leaning on the side of the car with that same expression, looking away in what seems to be disgust, the faraway setting sun reflecting off the ocean highlights the marks on his cheeks, making them seem deeper and darker than before, almost like the results of some scarring.

"I'm sorry. Didn't think there would be a party." He muttered disappointedly while his eyes were occupied by memorizing each wave of the ocean, before the hungry sea destroys itself by unwittingly dousing its only light.

"It's always like this…" Hinata watched as Naruto's gaze was slowly dragged back to the ocean in front of the house.

'_He's apologizing…'_

"I really don't mind…" At this point, she was too tired to gasp and freak out about the size of their mansion. Like Naruto, she felt tired because of the darkness. Somehow, sleeping seemed unnaturally appealing to her.

"I'll just go say hi and take you to a room for now." He ordered two men to pick up their bags and motioned for her to come with him.

'_He might as well be a prince…' _Hinata's imagination didn't wander too far before a loud, annoying voice rang out from inside the mansion.

"Naruto!" A tall, supposedly French girl came running towards him with her arms wide open. She jumped down the last two steps and wrapped her arms around him, taking his strength for granted. He took a few steps back and was about to fall if not for the pillar behind him.

"Julie…?" His voice was full of exasperation as he tried to confirm her identity.

"I've missed you so much!" Hinata couldn't understand a word, as the girl was speaking French. Naruto, however, answered in Japanese.

"Oh. I see." He gently pulled her arms off him and moved back a safe distance. It was then that Hinata could see her face more clearly. Her weight was somewhere around average and slightly above average, but nothing alarming. Her eyes were blue, but not the same kind of blue as Naruto's eyes. After that, Hinata wasn't really sure, because she had stacked at least ten layers of orange foundation on her face, and her eyebrows were drawn on. Not a pretty sight.

"And **who **is this?" She only then noticed Hinata.

"Oh, this…" Naruto seemed hesitant, but remembered what his parents had misunderstood and took a deep breath before speaking again.

"This is my girlfriend, Hinata." The girl's eyes widened and her smiling lips curved downwards into a deep, deep frown. The hate sent at Hinata all at once caused her to avert her eyes to the ground.

"I don't believe you!" Naruto flinched, but had already made his mind up to please his parents and placed his arm over Hinata's shoulders, pulling her a bit closer while doing so. As the girl, whose name was Julie, scrutinized Hinata, Naruto leaned over and whispered into her ear, his lips brushing against her skin each time he spoke.

"Please, just pretend for these two weeks." Hinata knew that he wanted to make his parents proud, and frankly, she wanted this girl to leave Naruto alone. There was something about her that made Hinata uncomfortable. She held back the sudden urge to poke her two index fingers together and looked up at Julie with determined eyes.

"Nice to meet you." Despite her tiredness, Hinata forced a strong smile. Upon receiving no answer, she looked to Naruto with an awkward expression.

"Whatever! It's not like I'll give up just because of this!" Julie stomped off angrily, leaving Hinata and Naruto alone. He pulled his arm away and instead took her hand.

"Thank you for doing this for me." His gaze was so intense, Hinata couldn't bear to look at him. Instead, she simply nodded. As if taking it as a symbol for him to continue, he walked with her into the house.

Plenty of people took notice of them, and Naruto was stuck introducing Hinata to over a hundred people before they could finally inform Kushina and Minato of their arrival. Kushina slapped Hinata's cheeks when seeing how close she was to drifting off into eternal slumber.

"We have prepared a room for the two of you on the third floor with the large balcony! Enjoy!" Minato and Kushina grinned at their son, who in turn blushed madly and turned away.

'_Damn… Do they mean that we have to… sleep together?!' _Hinata was too tired to understand anything.

"R-right… Well then…" With slow, heavy footsteps, Naruto brought her to the room they'd been given.

"Hinata, we've been given the same room." He tried, several times to make her aware of what was going on, but nothing would work.

"Okay…" She walked with her head bowed, no longer caring about their entwined fingers.

'_I guess I'll sleep on the sofa… But what if mom and dad come in to check on us?! Oh man, this isn't good…'_

"Naru…to…" His head shot up at the sound of her saying his name for the second time.

"Ye-yeah?!" He replied a lot louder than he'd meant to.

"Don't worry, I'm okay with anything… As long as we can sleep… And then we can sort it all out tomorrow, okay?" He sighed.

"You don't know what all this means, do you?"

"…"

"We'll have to sleep in the same bed… Holding each other, or something."

The moment he'd feared had come. They were in front of the door.

He opened it slowly.

What they were met by was worse than he'd expected.

Rose petals all over the room, candles lit and the double bed prepared for them. Two presents lay on each side of the bed, their colors clearly indicating who they were meant for. Naruto's eye twitched as he closed the door behind Hinata and kicked his shoes off.

"Those idiots…" Hinata was stuck trying to remove her shoes, and was eventually given assistance by him.

"Geez, Hinata. Can you be any more tired?" She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Tomorrow, we'll sort this out. But for tonight…" He approached the bed while still holding her warm hand and brushed the rose petals aside before allowing her to lie down.

_"Let's just sleep."_

* * *

Yay! Finished!

What did you think? I know you're all expecting the romance, but it's getting closer and closer! The fake girlfriend and boyfriend act has only just begun!

Once again, I'd like to thank my friend, Breezewhiskers for helping me with certain descriptions. He really makes Naruto the guy he is in this story.


	10. I Have Fallen for the Wrong Guy

_**Above 35,000 words. We've gotten this far, and I don't plan on stopping just yet! This is, I guess… Halfway through. **_

_**Poor Hinata and Naruto, they have no idea of what lies ahead of them.**_

_**Enjoy, and DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! ^^**_

_**Edit: FanFiction is down , but I figured out a temporary trick! **_

* * *

_**Chapter Ten – I Have Fallen for the Wrong Guy**_

* * *

The warm ball of light filtered through her thin eyelids awoke Hinata on the second day of their vacation. Rays of brightness cast squares onto the glossy stone floor, reflecting onto several objects in the room which decorated its otherwise simplicity. She blinked a few times, in an attempt to help her eyes adjust to the illumination directed right at her defenseless figure.

"Where…" She mumbled, still not completely awake. It was when she began looking around that she spotted the person lying next to her, in the same bed as her.

Her body tensed immensely and she rubbed her eyes as hard as she could before once again focusing on the sleeping boy next to her.

Naruto.

He was sprawled out on the bed, his bare left leg lying over both her thighs. He seemed to be one of those who moved around a lot in his sleep, but at this very moment, he lay as still as a brick. The only movement was the slight rise and fall of his chest. It was hard to imagine that this was the same boy that teased her every day, laughed and joked as if he were a clown of some kind. In sleep he was angelic, his face as fresh as a dew drop, making gentle snuffling noises as he breathed.

She snapped out of it.

"A-ah!" She threw herself out of the bed, landing hard on the floor below before standing and moving another three meters away from him before attempting to wake him.

"N-Naruto…?" He snored in reply.

"W-why…What…" She looked at herself only to realize that she was fully dressed. Then, nothing happened?

Just then, the door opened slightly and Kushina peeked her head inside with a big grin on her face.

"Good morning!" She yelled, her voice sounding healthier than Hinata's ever would.

"G-goo-"

"Minato and I are going out for a run, breakfast is downstairs and all the guests are already eating!"

_'Guests…?' _

"R-right…" Hinata glanced at Naruto, hoping that he'll wake up soon. Kushina followed her eyes and watched Naruto for a few seconds before speaking again.

"I wonder why he didn't wake up to my voice. Is he hard to wake?" Hinata wondered for a second why Kushina herself wouldn't know that, but didn't think much of it. More importantly, how was she supposed to answer that?

_'Sh-she thinks we've slept together before!' _Her cheeks turned red in an instant and she searched frantically for words to put together in order to reply. When bad became worse, Hinata nodded and hoped that Kushina wouldn't suspect anything.

"How annoying…" She mumbled. Her head shot up and she looked at Kushina, who for a second seemed to appear annoyed, but she quickly smiled again and waved to her.

"Well, good luck!" The door slammed shut and she was once again alone with him.

_'What was that all about…' _

For a minute, there was complete silence. Then, the sound of Naruto becoming conscious caught her attention. Slowly and reluctantly, he uncovered his face. He blinked, closed his eyes for a few seconds, and blinked again. Streaks of sunlight penetrated the window, blinding him. He looked like a fallen soldier, being shot at despite no longer having the ability to stand. Oh, how merciless the morning was.  
He sat up, dragged his feet off the bed and rubbed his knuckles against his closed eyes, and then stretched his arms above his head while letting out a gentle yawn. Then, as if he lost his motivation, he watched his legs dangle above the ice-cold floor.

"Go-good morning…" Her voice seemed pull him out of his trance, and he tilted his head back to meet her eyes.

"Mornin'." Her heart skipped a beat.

_'Th-that… Sounded so natural…' _

"U-uhm…"

"I guess we're really here, then."

"Y-yeah…" She looked around, taking in her extravagant surroundings. The spacious room, the open doors to the balcony and curtains blowing out gently with the breeze. The rose petals, flowers and gentle acoustic music playing in the background felt like a lullaby trying to lure her back to sleep. The song was in English, but the boy's voice was so soft, she felt like the words didn't matter.

"What do you wanna do today?" Naruto stood carefully, grimacing when feeling the cold rush begin below his feet and crawl up to his arms in a quick shiver. He let out a small "argh" as he jumped across the floor to the balcony, not caring about how ridiculous he looked. She giggled.

"What _are _you doing?"

"I don't get how you can stand there! It's so damn cold!"

_'I was so sure that everything would be really awkward… But Naruto, he can really make me comfortable. I feel like… I can be with him wherever I go.' _She sighed contently, opened her bag and began searching for clothes suitable to the weather.

_'If he hadn't told me to bring a few dresses, I wouldn't have anything to wear right now…' _She pulled out a cute short white dress and held it to her chest as she dug her hand into the pocked with all her panties in it.

Naruto opened the wardrobe and pulled out some shorts and a t-shirt. No matter what he wore, he always looked great, it wasn't fair.

After they'd changed and fixed their hair and faces, Hinata and Naruto made their way down to the dining hall where they were met by at least twenty other people staying in their mansion. They conversed with the people of different nationalities as they picked out their breakfast from the buffet. Naruto took scrambled eggs and lots of bacon while Hinata chose rice and fruit salad. They both had a steaming, newly-baked half baguette on the side of their trays.

"It's common to have people you don't _really _know stay in your house in Europe." Naruto whispered as he pulled her chair out. Hinata seated herself and nodded in understanding.

"So, Hinata, was it?" One of the women asked in English. She smiled and tried her best to reply in the same language, even though her accent was quite clear.

"Yes, nice to meet you." She said as she spread the butter across her baguette. Too nervous to take a bite, she instead began to drink her grapefruit juice.

"How old are you?"

"She's sixteen." Naruto answered for her.

"Oh, where are you from?" She asked, her question clearly directed at Hinata, but Naruto also answered this one for her.

"Japan, like me."

"And what school do yo-"

"This bread is delicious!" The people around them cast Naruto a somewhat suspicious look before turning to Hinata and _really _making it blatantly obvious that they want _her _to answer.

"So, **Hinata." **She gulped. "How did you meet?" She almost choked.

_'H-how we met?!' _She shot a glance over at Naruto, who gave her a 'mess this up and you're dead' look, boosting her confidence by negative 100.

_'What do I say…?! Something normal, something unsuspicious, something realistic! And fast!' _

"I-I responded to his advertisement."

"Advertisement?! Did you meet online?! What kind of advertisement was it?!" Everyone began to gather around, pushing Hinata deeper and deeper into the bad choice of words she'd hit them with. She. Naruto closed his eyes and crossed his hands with no intention of helping her out.

"U-uhm… I-it was an advertisement for walking his… d-dog! Yes, his dog!" They all gasped and continued asking more questions. She stole a glance at Naruto, who glared at her, his squinted eyes and sharp jawline emphasizing the deep frown on his face.

_'A dog, really?!'_

"You have a dog?" A guy asked.

"It was meant to be a secret, Hinata." He wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulders and pulled her closer to him rather harshly, but when she gasped quietly, he made up for it by whisper gently in her ear. Well, he thought it was a good thing, but Hinata was taken by complete surprise and jumped upon feeling the warm sensation of his hot lips against the skin normally hidden behind her hair. When she relaxed again, he spoke silently to her with a bit more distance between them.

"How are we supposed to get out of _this _one…?!" She tried to ignore his lips brushing against her skin and pursed her lips with cheeks as red as a terrible sunburn.

"U-uhm…" Julie spoke up, cutting her off.

"Naruto, your parents never mentioned you having a dog." He shook his head.

"It was at the hospital w-with brain ca-cancer!" Hinata answered.

"BRAIN CANCER?"

"What breed is it?" At first, they went completely quiet, then they spoke at the same time.

"Golden retriever!" Hinata exclaimed at the same time as Naruto, who had said "Dachshund". Then, they looked at each other and said. "It's a crossbreed." In unison. Julie took note of this event.

"So, who's taking care of it now?" Hinata could finally lie with a smile.

"At my father's house." Naruto nodded, clearly pleased with her now realistic sounding story.

"Well, anyway, now that your parents are away – You need to show us!" A woman who'd previously claimed to be from Austria changed the topic to something Naruto was clearly not expecting. Hinata, too, would've been surprised if she actually knew what the woman was talking about.

"Show you…" He waited for her to continue.

"A kiss, of course!" Naruto froze.

_'W-why?!' _

"That…" He was clearly flustered. Hinata raised her eyebrows, her face darkening more and more by the second.

"Come on! It will be cute!" They cheered on.

"Those idiots…" Naruto mumbled with his head turned away from Hinata in order to hide the dorky smile on his excited face. If not for Hinata's shock, she would've wondered why he sounded so happy.

"I guess we don't have a choice…" Hinata's eyes widened and she looked at him. Naruto bit back his smile and turned to her.

"That won't be necessary!" Julie tried to yell, but her voice was killed by the loudness of everyone else. She scowled and studying Hinata, finding her resistance somewhat strange.

"B-but…" Naruto gripped her shoulders as if to prepare her for what was to come. He felt her tense up, but this time, he knew that it was the best thing to do. Not only did he _want_ to kiss her, but it would also prove to those around her - including the guys that thought they had a shot at her – that she was his girlfriend. Well, at least for these two weeks.

_'Sorry, you're going to have to suffer another kiss from me.' _

Despite the great opportunity, Naruto looked nervous. His hands trembled slightly as he once again leaned down to her level and whispered against her warm ear.

"I hope this kiss isn't against your will." And without moving back and looking her in the eyes, he pressed his lips against hers for everyone in the room to see. His lips where warm and tasted of sweet apple; he had just finished drinking his juice earlier. After a few seconds of awkwardness, he felt encouraged by the livery Europeans around him to go on. His hands wrapped around her waist and after a light nudge, Hinata's locked around his neck, pulling him down slightly. She couldn't think, but his movements helped her body act, even though she was extremely stiff and wasn't kissing back at all. It looked like she was completely unprepared, even though she knew what had been coming.

When they broke apart for air, Naruto rested his forehead against hers as she gathered some much needed oxygen. His smirk told her that she had done well, and she blushed.

_'I can't believe I'm doing this…'_

"Beautiful!"

"Adorable!"

"You two are a perfect couple!" Naruto scratched his head nervously and grinned bashfully.

"Y'think?"

* * *

After breakfast, Hinata decided that she needed to get outside for a bit in order to get away from the Jet lag, so Naruto had suggested that she play badminton with Julie. The court was large, and the weather was perfect for a game or two. Although warm, it was nothing uncomfortable. After Naruto had asked kindly, Julie lent her some clothes to change into.

Julie had taken a while longer to get changed, so Hinata was out on the court before her. She performed some stretching exercises while waiting. Naruto sat at a table near the court with the intention of doing nothing but watching her lose. He knew that Julie was good at badminton.

"Oh, hey Naruto." A familiar voice called out to him, and Naruto answered without looking back.

"Menma."

"It's been a while!" His dark-haired cousin walked down the stairs and took a seat next to him. Naruto used to think that he was his twin, and he would most likely still have believed that if he hadn't looked it up when he was thirteen only to find out that they were cousins on Minato's side. Still, they were _very _similar in all ways but one: personality.

"Woah! _That's _your girlfriend? She's one hell of a chick." He drank up Naruto's soda as he observed Hinata from a distance. Used to his behavior, Naruto simply ordered another drink.

"I thought you were into voluptuous women."

"Well, they can also be sexy, but your girlfriend, she's hot too." Menma would always use such bold words to describe women. Some liked it, some hated it. But needless to say, he _always _got the girls he wanted in the end, which was exactly why Naruto planned to keep an eye on him now that he'd complimented Hinata.

"Girlfriend means hands off, you know." He warned.

"Right, whatever you say." As they conversed, Julie emerged from the changing room with all of her makeup removed.

"Oh, it's the slut." Indeed, there weren't many girls that Julie hadn't been together with. Menma and she had been girlfriend and boyfriend for two weeks, but he broke up with her when she cheated on him with a teacher. Naruto was one of the very few who was not the least bit interested in her, despite her beauty.

_'Wow… She's gorgeous without makeup…' _Julie picked her racket up and walked to the opposite side of the net. Her soft, ivory shoulders were exposed and her chestnut curls fell down her back. He lips were a natural shade of dark-pink and her skin was completely flawless. Her blue eyes shone like the sky. Hinata, stunned by her beauty, was still at the far back.

"Hello? Are you gonna play or not?!" She broke out of her daydreaming and jogged within the lines. The game began, Julie winning most of the games. Occasionally, Hinata would slam the bird down and win, but otherwise, Julie was on fire.

The game helped her get out her frustration on Hinata, who was happily unknowing of all the resentment that Julie harbored.

_'How is this little bitch better than me?!'_

There was one particular shot that disturbed her. Julie raised her arm and swung to his the bird with such great power that it was practically impossible to return. Hinata didn't know how, but her feet had moved on their own, and she had miraculously shot it back, but with very little power. She was surprised it even made it over.

But when it came back, Julie dropped her racket and deliberately made the bird hit her. She fell back, exaggerating her movements as she hit the ground hard and let out a small, painful scream.

"Ah!" Unfortunately for Hinata, Naruto hadn't seen it happen, and was only made aware of things when he heard Julie's pained scream. He stood up and ran over to her.

"What happened?" He asked, clearly caring about her. Hinata let go of her racket and began walking towards them with hesitant footsteps.

"She hit me really hard… I don't know why she was being so violent…"

_'Violent…? But… You were the one-'_Her thoughts were cut off by Naruto's irritated voice.

"Hinata, how could you do that? It's supposed to be a friendly game, not a battle."

"But I-"

"Go get changed and do something else, I'll take care of Julie." Hinata but her lip, holding back everything she wanted to say. For now, all she could do was listen and abide to Naruto's words. It was all a misunderstanding, and yet, he'd really gotten mad at her.

Hinata left with heavy footsteps, and after showering and handing the clothes to the cleaners, went to the bar for a cold drink. She didn't see him at all for the rest of the day. Even when afternoon arrived, Naruto was still spending time with Julie, taking care of her and following her around to pointless places. They seemed to have so much fun, while Hinata had absolutely no one to talk to, since she'd only agreed to come for Naruto's sake.

_'They're having fun, and here I am…' _She looked at herself and sighed.

It felt unfair of him to jump to conclusions and believe what Julie had said. Hinata knew for a fact that the bird didn't hit her hard, and even if Hinata would've used all the power she had to return it, it would never have caused her to fall like that. The girl clearly had something against her, but what, she didn't know.

_'Why do I care, anyway…' _ She thought as she walked up the stairs towards their room.

_'I just want to go home and live a normal life again… I could be cleaning the school together with Sakura and Ino now… Or maybe I would be watering the flowers with Uchiha-san…' _Hinata stopped and looked out of the tall window beside her, admiring the setting sun outside. On the other side of the world, her friends were either asleep or just waking up.

_'I really, really want to go home…' _She continued to walk up the stairs with footfalls as heavy as rocks. The sound was muffled by the carped that covered it, anyway.

She opened the door and was met by emptiness. No sound coming from either of the rooms inside.

Naruto was at the party, most likely with Julie.

The same bitterness took over her and she furrowed her eyebrows. Why would he invite her to come with him and then run away with that Julie girl? She's already forgiven him once for bringing another girl over when he'd just kissed her, and now he was making the same mistake again! What _was _she to him, anyway? A toy? A plaything?

Hinata changed into a different dress and went to the party without an escort. She figured that she might as well show up and have dinner at the very least. She knew that Naruto wouldn't be happy if she stayed in the room, and even if he wanted to ruin his image by spending time with another lady despite having claimed that he has a girlfriend, _she _wouldn't do the same.

She grabbed a plate and swung a couple of peas on it, not caring about the ones that rolled off. After that, she threw two potatoes on the side, crushing them in the process. After adding the meatballs and sauce, she turned around and was met face-to-face by someone she'd never met before.

"You seem to really hate food, huh?" He spoke in Japanese.

_'Is he… Naruto?' _

Menma let out a small chuckle at the sight of her shock-mingled-with-confusion expression and hurried to explain.

"We look like twins, don't we?" And somewhere far away, a set of ocean-colored eyes were watching them.

"U-uhm…" Menma took her hand and shook it vigorously with an enormous grin on his face.

"I'm Menma, Naruto's cousin."

"O-oh!" Hinata seemed to understand and smiled while trying to hold her plate steady as he kept shaking her hand.

"Anyway." Not letting go of her hand, he set her plate aside and led her to a nearby sofa. Naruto, who was talking to Julie, narrowed his eyes at them.

_'Does she not realize what she's getting herself into?' _

The music was as loud as thunder; it made the cutlery on the tabletops rattle. Neon lights flashed everywhere like police sirens, but much more colorful. It was a large contrast to how the mansion appeared at day, which reminded Hinata somewhat of a movie she'd watched a while back called _The Great Gatsby. _The Uzumaki family _loved _to have parties, and although not really as crazy as Gatsby's, it was most likely as close as it could get.

The doors to the beach were open. The shadows were now twice as long as themselves, the air was damp and cool, smelling of the ocean, mingled with an excessive plethora of perfume and sweat. Some people danced like they were on fire, while some were chatting with small amounts of wine in their tall glasses.

"Why isn't Naruto with you?" Menma leaned back and without her really noticing, placed his arm around her shoulders. Hinata sighed and stared at her thighs, not knowing how to answer him. Seeing the sadness in her eyes, his smile faded and he squeezed her hand so as to remind her of that he was there for her.

"You know, a pretty girl like you deserves better than him. He's just gonna break your heart with his gullibility."

_'Gullibility…?' _

"There are other, better guys out there." Hinata searched the room once, just in case Naruto might be around.

_'I bet this girl wouldn't hesitate to cheat on him. Their relationship is just that shallow. Even now, she's making sure that he can't see when she lets me kiss her.' _Menma smirked.

Hinata wore no makeup, nor did she wear perfume. And yet, she smelled faintly of vanilla. The weakness of whatever she wore was inviting, and tempted him to lean closer and draw another whiff of it. She was nothing like what he usually went after, but her natural beauty and what he believed to be fake innocence was entertaining to him.

He blocked her vision, towering over her as he changed his position to be in front of her. Slowly and carefully, he raised her chin and began leaning down for their lips to meet. It was then that her tired eyes caught sight of Naruto and Julie doing just what Menma was about to do.

Kissing.

Her eyes shot open and she shoved Menma away from her with more force than she'd meant to.

"D-don't touch me!" She looked at Naruto and Julie again. This time, her eyes met with Julie's and she finally snapped out of it.

_'Th-they're… Kissing…' _Hinata shook her head. No. It couldn't be happening. She was seeing things!

"Hey, why'd you push me away?" Menma seemed surprised, but not mad.

"I-I need to go!" She stood up and fled. Fled from Menma and the party.

Fled from Naruto.

Fled from everything.

As she felt her feet slam against the stone floor, making loud, echoing noises that eventually faded out into nothing, she also felt something warm slide down her cheek, followed by another.

She stopped when she finally reached the empty stairs and collapsed to her knees.

"Ruto…." She tried to whisper his name, but her voice was hoarse and could barely be heard by even herself.

"Nar…uto…" The tears dripped off her face from her nose, chin and cheeks at an uncontrollable pace. There was no one next to her to comfort her or listen to what she wanted to say. No one was willing to hear her out, even if her words could prove to be of importance. She didn't even try to wipe the tears away as they poured down and melted into her dress, darkening its already crimson color and making it cold against her bare skin beneath it.

"Naruto…" She closed her eyes as she could and parted her lips. Her head was bowed. Her whole body trembled.

_'I… I can't believe it… I'm crying so much for him…' _

She whimpered silently.

_'I'm in love with Naruto… I really am…' _But unbeknownst to her, the scene she'd witnessed was one of great misunderstanding. This time, she was the one to blame.

Naruto shoved Julie away from him and furrowed his eyebrows menacingly.

"What is your problem?! _I told you_, I have a girlfriend! Leave me alone, already!"

"But, Naruto… You're the only one who doesn't hit on me…"

"That's because I don't find you attractive!" She frowned.

"Are you _really _in love with her?!" Naruto replied confidently.

"I love her so much it hurts." Julie couldn't take it. She didn't want to hear of it!

"I don't believe it! I won't fall for your lies! You've never liked a girl before!"

"There's a first time for everything. You've probably already forgotten your first, though."

"_Excuse me?!"_

"You heard me, slut!"

_'Why… Why do I have to love him, of all people?' _Hinata whimpered and sniffled.

"Naruto…" She whispered and tried to raise herself from the floor, but to no avail.

_'I don't want to… I'm afraid to love him…' _

"I love Hinata, and Hinata _only."_

_'I wish she felt the same way about me…'_

"Well, she saw us kissing!"

"I'll just tell her that _you _came onto me."

"She won't believe that!" Naruto moaned in annoyance.

"Just shut **up **already… You're so irritating…"

_'Even though she saw, I'm sure she doesn't care. We'll just have to act like she did in front of those who weren't drunk and saw her kiss me.' _

The two teenagers would never have believed in a million years that they felt the same about each other. At least not at this point.

_'I don't want to love him…!' _She thought, squeezing her swollen eyes shut as she continued to cry alone.

_'I wish she would care… If even a little… It would make me so happy.' _Naruto sighed, ignoring Julie's endless ranting.

_'I have fallen for the wrong guy…'_

* * *

Hope you liked it. I know, it's sad. Next chapter _will _contain some serious romance, so please don't read it if you can't handle on-the-verge-of-lemon stuff.

**Next up!**

Chapter 11 – I love you too


	11. I Love you, Too

**Now, to those who really don't want to read romance, please skip the first part of this chapter. **But I'll have you know: it won't be stupid and gross!

Anyway, I know that the **NEXT UP didn't match the chapter this time,** I didn't want to make it so boring, and... yeah. So, anyway, i changed the teaser!

You all probably hate Naruto at this point, which is understandable. I'm not going to argue, if that's what you thought I was gonna do.

Rereading it now, I realize how it all must be so confusing for you. Since I want to keep the shoujo-ish type of story, I decided to use the denial in the previous chapter. Their actions don't match their minds. Hinata wants to be with Naruto, but she's keeps her distance, and Naruto wants to keep her all to himself, but he denies his feelings for her and tries to distance himself from her by acting cold and mean.

In the beginning, it's quite easy for him to _act, _but being alone with her, and actually being _serious _with her… It's all really new to him.

This isn't making a lot of sense, is it? Ugh…

He _will _apologize, trust me.

Uhh, and please let me know what you think of this teaser. I never write hardcore romance, but I've read a lot of books, so I hope to give some of you butterflies in your stomachs. I'm serious now –** Review and let me know if the romance scene was okay or not.**

With that done and said – let's get this party started!

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven – I love you, too**_

* * *

_"N-Naruto …" He kissed her teasingly, pulling on her bottom lip with his teeth while his tongue grazed it sensually. She didn't know that, despite the stuttering and insecurity, the way she said his name, and the way it made him feel, was a major turn-on._

_"Hinata…" He replied, nudging her cheek with his smooth nose, taking note of how her eyes followed his neck, and the way she'd shiver whenever he'd expose his jaw. She, quite unexpectedly nibbled against it; the way she did it was gentle and seductive, and it caused electric waves to rush through his body several times, especially since it was such a rare, lustful thing for her to do._

_His long fingers threaded through her silken hair, and she, in return gripped his neck with one hand and pulled him down to her. Then, he kissed her tenderly, his moistened lips suckling on her lower lip as his tongue caressed the inside of her mouth teasingly. He allowed his masculine, yet clumsy hands to graze her throat with the barest touch before moving down to her shoulder, back, ribs, waist and hips, until they settled on her soft thighs, making her shudder with a quiet whimper. She used her other hand to reach up and run her hands through his blonde, rebellious hair in an attempt to keep herself occupied. Such a simple touch proved to both him and her how much they loved each other, and their time together would only grow more and more deep._

_"I love you, Hinata." He whispered, his breath hitching upon doing do._

_"I love you too, Naruto." She whispered with her usual, adorable blush painted across her round cheeks. This time, she took the initiative and kissed him. Moving on, she wrapped her frail fingers around the collar of his shirt and pulled him to her, forcing him to collapse down on her. At first, he was overcome by surprise and hesitance, because he was afraid that his weight might crush her, but the second he felt her teeth nipping his bottom lip, his uncertainty was completely abandoned. As a reward for exciting him so, Naruto began suckling her neck and dragging his teeth against her warm skin. She whimpered once again, helpless._

_"Naruto…" Her voice grew somewhat darker, but he paid no mind to it and continued to kiss her deeper and deeper as he sank down against her small body._

_"Naruto." It wasn't until her voice began to sound like it belonged to a man that he pulled back and took a close look at her. What he saw caused him to scream._

_"**Naruto!"**_

* * *

"Ahhh!" Naruto's eyes snapped open and he threw a kick right on his driver's shinbone, earning him a short duet where they together screamed, but for two very different reasons.

Hinata and Naruto had one week and a day left of vacation in the French Riviera, and their trip was looking grim. They hadn't spoken – let alone looked at each other ever since the incident at the party. Naruto had seen Hinata run off, but decided not to follow her.

'_It was just a dream, huh.'_

More like a nightmare, he'd say.

It was for the better – they weren't meant to be. He should send her home, but his parents would've questioned him. At the same time – he didn't intend to _use _her in the way he was doing. Truth be told, Naruto was head over heels for the girl he slept in the same room as, but he _knew _that she didn't feel the same way. He was convinced.

'_I'm such an insensitive jerk.' _He thought as he hoisted himself out of the car he'd been forced to sit in for the last three hours. Regret was a word that couldn't express half of what he'd been feeling, but it would have to do for now. Naruto really, _really _regretted not running after her.

'_I have all the money in the world… I'm the best looking guy in school… I have tons of friends…' _He balled his hands into fists and lowered his head. _'And yet…' _

'_I'm not even close to being good enough for her!' _

"We're home."

"Do you think I need youto tell me that?" He replied, his voice clouded by both embarrassment and irritation.

'_That damn driver better not have heard anything.' _

"If you tell anyone about this…" He sent the driver a death-threatening look. The suit-dressed man quickly nodded and got back in the car, clearly a bit afraid of his customer.

"Hmpf." Naruto picked his suitcase up and began making his way towards the mansion. On his way there, he came to decide that he and Hinata would attend the party tonight, because he wanted to make up with her. It would be his last attempt before telling his parents the truth. He didn't want to keep lying when he'd already hurt her so badly.

She awoke in soft sheets, and the morning light trickled in through the blinds. Shedding herself of the remaining glimpses of a dream, her eyes were still shut as she soaked in the warmth of her covers before turning letting her lavender eyes see the sun's rays. She waited for the cloudy world to come into focus before turning to the mobile by her bed and glancing at the lit up screen.

"Uchiha-san…?" She picked it up and looked closer, trying to make out what he'd sent her.

'**What are you doing at this time? It's quite late, but I thought I might start somewhere.'**

She smiled, a little surprised by the fact that he'd decided to write to her. He was, after all, the most popular guy in her school. He would be a great friend.

'_Oh, but I can't tell him where I am…' _She thought for a while, carefully deciding what to type before making up her mind.

'**On an evening like this, I am rereading my favorite book. And what is Uchiha-san doing?'**

His reply came as soon as she'd placed her phone back down, but she was just as fast with picking it back up and reading.

'**Sounds cozy. Are you doing anything interesting this break?'**

The smile never left her lips as she wrote back.

'**I am helping my father with job this and next week, but after that I'll be working in school.'**

'**Then we might see each other! We could eat lunch together if we happen to have the same "shift"' **

"I'm back." His low, calm voice caused Hinata to shiver when he entered the room. Naruto wore nothing but plain-looking sandals, a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt with a picture of a sloth on it. She gulped and answered him with a passive voice.

"Welcome home…"

"Uhm…" They both spoke at the same time, and after trying to speak again, grew silent.

"I'll… Be going now." Naruto turned and started towards the door, but Hinata grabbing his wrist stopped him immediately.

'_I can't take this anymore…'_

"Tha-that girl… Do you like her?" He didn't answer as quickly as he normally would, because he found the question to be very interesting - not the question in itself, because its answer was blatantly obvious – but the fact that Hinata had asked it. Could it possibly be that she was _jealous? _No, he was far too stupid for that to be true.

"You might think that I do… Because I've been quite friendly with her recently." Hinata's closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for what his next words would be.

"But I don't. And believe it or not, no one does." Hinata's eyes snapped open and she looked at him with a look of shock on her pretty little face.

"I don't like a lot of girls, really." He confessed. She let go of his wrist, but he was quick to take her hand before she could rest it at her side once again.

"But I like you. And I'm sorry for… behaving the way I did… From today on, I want to spend time with you, and _you_ only." The way he spoke those words with such intensity and sincerity; the way his hand shuddered, and the way he tenderly smiled gave her all the reason she needed to find a medicine for the wound he'd once created.

Hinata smiled, and Naruto frowned, sensing that she didn't take his confession seriously.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Her smile faded.

"W-what?" She asked, somewhat afraid.

"Ugh… I can't just say it! Look, even though look it, I'm not a smart guy, but that one kiss-"

"Two…" She corrected. He moaned in anger and dragged his left hand down his face for making such a dumb mistake.

"See?! Anyway, those _two _kisses… I don't normally do that!" She looked even more confused than she did when he first began talking.

"Uhm…"

"Fine, who do _you _like?" Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks grew as red as a tomato.

"I-i…" But she was prepared to say this. She was prepared to admit her feelings for him!

"I-I like… Y- Yo-"But she wasn't quick enough.

"Exactly! Which is exactly why I can't tell you! It's impossible!"

'_I missed my chance…' _

"B-but then…" She bowed her head. "There is someone you l-l…like?" He took a step back, clearly not expecting her to ask that.

"W…"

'_I really need to stop acting so stupid…'_

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." He squeezed her hand.

'_Please don't hate me for this.'_

"It's not just _like, _I'm certain that I'm in love with her." The words formed themselves into an arrow and pierced through Hinata's chest.

"But I can't… say it words, so, is it okay… If I do a gesture…?" Hinata nodded, not really caring anymore.

Just then.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, pushing all of his embarrassment aside and, quite roughly, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her towards him. Hinata, without much time to react, flew into him as if she had no control over her movements, and stared long and hard into his chest without moving. Looking up at him at this point would exceed embarrassment and awkwardness, so she set her eyes on his plain white T-shirt and subconsciously moved to see if it really was muscles she was feeling against her stomach.

'_Urgh… I shouldn't have done that… Her chest… It's pressing against mine…' _

'_He has muscles…'_

Naruto shook his head as if to rid himself of the thoughts he had and almost as quickly, wrapped his strong arms around her. She felt his hands push against her back until he had her within his zealous embrace. She had never been this close to her, and the redness of her cheeks made it quite clear, but she realized that she loved the feeling of it and hoped that he would do this more times.

"Hinata, listen to me." His voice was lustful, almost too lustful. He sounded like he was in an old black and white movie right before a love scene.

'_I feel so cliché…' _

"I…" Just as the three, so important words were about to be said, the door to the room slammed open, and Naruto was ready to _murder _whoever had the guts to enter.

"Naruto!" Kushina and Minato exclaimed in unison like the two idiots they were. It was almost embarrassing – no, it _was _embarrassing – to be their son.  
For Hinata's sake, he let go of her and stepped back, turning to his parents with a rather irritated look. Why did they, when they finally did, show up at the _completely wrong time?_

"Oh, were we disturbing?" Minato asked, actually seeming to care.

"Of course we weren't! We want you both to attend the party tonight, okay? Good!" And at that, Naruto's parents were out of the room, leaving the heavy stench of awkwardness behind them.

"Uh…" Naruto began.

'_Way to ruin the mood. Thanks a lot, mom, dad.' _He crossed his arms and sighed.

"You get it, don't you?" He said, glancing to his side to see Hinata's expression. She looked like she was contemplating something very important, but for all he knew, it was probably about whether or not he meant that they could be friends or not.

"…" Naruto sighed. Why did he have to say it?

Suddenly, her face turned beet red and her eyes widened to the point where he thought she was possessed.

"You… Okay?" Then, she quickly turned to him and pointed at herself, gasping. He didn't really know how, but it seemed like she finally understood what he'd meant.

"You finally get it?" He laughed. Hinata could only stare, in shock at him. After he sobered, Naruto cast Hinata a wistful smile and shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

"But I get it – you don't like me back." He averted his eyes. "I would probably be mad, too, if you were to have done what I did."

Hinata looked like she wanted to say something, because she kept opening and closing her mouth, but nothing came out, so Naruto continued hurriedly in order to make himself sound less, his confidence slowly crumbling.

"I mean… I was a jerk… I knew that Julie lied, but I was too insecure to take your side… I knew that all the other guests would hate me for it, because they all want to be liked by her… I…" He bowed his head in humiliation. "Can't believe I did that."

"It's because you came to my apartment and thought you could be my babysitter! If…" Naruto's shaking hands clenched into fists. "I wouldn't have been so mean if you had just not showed up!"

"Na-"She was cut off as soon as she tried to speak.

"I wouldn't be here with you… I wouldn't have to see you!" Hinata frowned, not because she was offended, but because Naruto seemed to be losing his mind over something she had a positive answer to.

"If not for you… I wouldn't be so…" Behind his blonde bangs, Naruto's face was contorted. He didn't want her to see him so weak. _"I wouldn't be so crazy in love with you…" _

Hinata became still as a statue, her face stuck in an incredulous expression. She was white as chalk.

'_Why did I have to say it?!'_

"Look, I'm sorry…" He raised his hand to touch her, but hesitated when seeing her face. She appeared to be so shocked, so afraid, he felt like a monster. Almost convinced by her reaction, he looked down at his hand and studied it before relaxing and staring into the floor.

"I'm sorry…"

"I…" She stepped towards him in order to hopefully obtain the proximity they'd had before.

"It's not… Th-that… I don't like you b-back…" Yes, she was blushing. Yes, she sounded like she was on the verge of tears. But Naruto was willing to hear her out no matter what pace she was speaking at.

"Actually… I-it's… The-the opposite…" He raised one of his eyebrows in confusion. "No… I don't thi-"Hinata's sudden gesture caught him off-guard. She clutched at her heart and closed her eyes with pursed lips, holding the tears back.

"I love Naruto so much… It hurts…" Now, it was Naruto's turn to be shocked. She _loves _him? And to the point where it was painful? The thought of it, despite sounding rather unpleasant, was splendid!

"Then I guess we can be in pain together." He mentally hit himself across the head with a hammer.

'_Wow, amazing words right there. You should be quoted, Naruto.' _ But Hinata didn't seem to notice – she was far too busy staying conscious. On a more normal day, he would've commented and maybe even laugh at it, but right now, all he wanted to do was confirm his feelings for her.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a sheepish smile, failing to hide his blush.

"May I… Kiss you?" Apparently, his words were too much for Hinata, and if not for his grip on her shoulders, her head would've smacked right into the stone table behind her.

* * *

_"The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside, until the air is alive with chatter and laughter, and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other's names."_

It really was a Gatsby party.

Hinata's dress reached down to her ankles. Her ivory shoulders were exposed and her indigo curls poured down her back and some even at the front of her chest. She sauntered into the party hall, feeling awkward and unconfident. Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand gently placed on her bare back, and turned to look at her partner, Naruto, who had been smiling a billion dollar smile ever since she came out of the changing room after trying on dresses. The lights seemed to dim as their glowing presence diminished them, wait – they did!

The whole room turned to watch as they slid across the floor towards the bar, hand in hand. She squeezes him harder, her sweaty hand telling him how nervous she was to let everyone else see them together in such a way. In return, he leaned down and whispered carefully in her ear.

"Just smile and hold my hand." His voice was so soothing, she felt like all of her anxiety had dissipated and gave in to the tugging at the corners of her lips. A beautiful, elegant smile spread across her face, and although she began to _appear _confident, her hand shook even more now that people started whispering.

"Wow, they're adorable!"

"Such show-offs…"

"I thought he was together with Julie…" The last comment caused Naruto to stop and turn to the speaker. His smiled vanished into thin air as he approached her together with Hinata, who couldn't seem to understand what he was doing. .

"Naruto…?"

"Look, I'm far from together with her! I don't know if you were awake or not when I arrived, but _this _is my girlfriend!" He raised his right hand to show how their fingers were entwined and narrowed his eyes as if to say _check-mate for you, huh?_ But to his dismay, she simply shrugged and looked at her friend.

"Well, you _could _be cheating." He felt taken-aback, but quickly recovered and was ready to settle things with a fist-fight, to which Hinata had to stop him.

"Now listen, you…"

"Naruto, don't!"

Suddenly, a piano melody rang out across the hall, halting all motion and talking. Each key made more and more people realize what was being played, and surprisingly, most were pleased.

"This is…"

"Bagatelle in A Minor, WoO 59, "Für Elise"." Naruto answered, correcting his suit jacket sleeve. Since when did he become so familiar with piano sonatas?

"It's so pretty…" She murmured, and Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Naruto!" Julie's voice echoed across the hall, and Naruto hummed in order to resist his groan. He had even gone as far as to call her by a word he'd never said before because it was so rude, and yet – she came back.

'_I really should apologize, though…' _He watched Hinata's expression darken as Julie neared them, and cast her an apologetic smile.

"Hey, I'm sorry." He said plainly.

"Sorry for what?" She asked, kind of bewildered.

"Calling you… a.."

"Oh, that's fine! Well, it's not _fine, _but I'm glad you apologized! I knew it was just a heat-of-the-moment thing, so I quickly got over it!"

"But really, I mean it." She was once again not sure of what he was saying.

"You _mean _it?" Perhaps she thought she meant about the insult, but he was quick to explain.

"I have a girlfriend, I don't like you in that way at all." The words stung, but Julie smiled as if it didn't hurt one bit.

"Right, got ya. Anyway, enjoy your evening!" Her smile was so fake, but somehow, Hinata was the only one to see it.

"We will" He turned to Hinata. "Man! That sure was a lot off my back!" As he talked, she couldn't help but notice how angrily Julie was glaring at her. If only looks could kill.

"Anyway, haha, you looked a bit jealous there when we were talking. Did I make you jealous, did i?" Naruto and Hinata walked off towards the bar together while laughing and joking.

"Of course you did…" She looked back at Julie and was met by the eyes of a rival. Her pupils had narrowed into slits and were directed **right **at her.

'_Hyuuga Hinata. I __**will **__make Naruto hate you.'_

* * *

"I'm glad it's over…" Naruto released all the air he could possibly contain in his lungs as soon as they entered the now quite cold room. _Their _room.

"I thought… it was fun…" She whispered, unsure of how he would react. "By the way… About your parents…"

"Yeah, I knew you were gonna ask that eventually." He said as he closed the doors to the balcony. "But wow, I'm so glad we can be together like this!" After shutting the windows as well, he turned to her with a sober expression. "When I was young, my parents only cared about their image. The occupied themselves with work and would always leave before I woke up and come home after I'd fallen asleep."

He sat down on the bet and loosened his tie.

"I remember trying to stay up a few, but I never made it."

"…"

"Well, anyway. They'd always hire babysitters to do the work for them. I was initially not supposed to ever exist, but they were happy that I was born. It's just… I didn't live up to their expectations." Hinata frowned.

"I always got 100% on all my tests, but since I didn't have many friends, I always ended up getting a B as my final grade. Our school would grade us on teamwork as well, but I never had a partner."

"But that's… Mean…" He let out a dry chuckle. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Leaning back on the bed, he stared up at the ceiling while reminiscing his childhood. "I was bullied for a while, too. But I didn't dare tell my parents because they would just that that it was all my fault. So when I grew up, I somehow turned out quite good-looking, which got me lots of friends and fan clubs, but by then, my parents had already left me for the sake of work. They own a whole bunch of pharmaceutical companies around the world, which is why we've got so much money."

Which explained a lot.

"But growing up in this environment, you know, I just don't care about money anymore. I just kinda wish…" He hesitated, but decided to say it anyway. "Parents that cared about me, you know?"

Hinata looked down, somewhat distraught. That his parents would choose work over their son, and even move away from him was… mortifying. And now, they expect that everything will be fine? She understood why Naruto was so upset, and also why he would, for once, want to make them proud.

"I don't really know what I want, anymore… I want them to like me, but at the same time, I don't think they deserve it."

"Naruto…" She walked over to him and sat down next to him, making sure that there was some distance between them.

"I… Think you should do whatever feels right. I'm amazed that you still care about your parents, even after… what they did…But remember, i-it… also helped you become who you are now." He smiled momentarily, but he also seemed to be contemplating what she said.

"Who I am now, huh…" He sat up and looked at her.

"Speaking of which… We never finished our conversation earlier today." She blushed, knowing what he meant.

'_That's right… I fainted when he asked if he could…'_

"So, may i?" Her eyes widened, but her gaze didn't leave him.

"Wh-why so… Suddenly…?"

"The way you were today… How gorgeous you were today… And most importantly, what you just said… It makes me love you more and more!" She gasped audibly, and her cheeks reddened even more.

"I love you…" He whispered. "I really do." Hinata blinked, believing that she might be in a dream of some kind. But when she opened her eyes, he was still staring right at her with such intensity.

"I…" She moved a bit closer to him, embarrassed. Naruto, of course, took this as an _you may _and also scooted closer.

This time, he kissed her with a new intensity – the kind that he'd yearned to express but had always been to nervous to. They didn't kiss harder, softer or even deeper than they had the last two times, but this kiss was certainly different now that they both knew of each other's feelings. From now on, they would continue being together, and trying out new things together. There would be a lot of 'firsts' and awkward moments would be inevitable, but she was looking forward to it all, because, after all, it would be with Naruto.

They parted, and Hinata couldn't help but smile despite herself.

"I… Love you, too."

* * *

Yes, Julie means trouble, and **yes, **she will do whatever it takes to 'make Naruto hate her'. Yes, she sucks. Don't we all have that one person that always seems to want to make our lives suck?

Next up!

Minato wants Naruto to take over their enormous company, but under one condition: that he marry Hinata when they both have turned eighteen.

How will Naruto react? It's a bit too early for marriage - Isn't it!?

And at the same time... Julie is plotting something - But what?

Chapter Twelve: Now, I've Got You.


	12. Now, I've got you

**I'm so nervous to continue the story at this point! I hope I can meet up to everyone's expectations! I want to make everyone happy, but I'm just so nervous now!**

**Just a little note. I know that there's lots of drama and angst, but I'd like you to keep in mind that i don't just write mad romance. There needs to be a story to make it as realistic as possible, and if you're looking for pure romance, I would like to advise that you read another fanfic. There are plenty out there with what you might be searching for. ^^**

**Thank you for forcing yourselves to read this far!**

**Also, if the sentence begins with bold text, it's a timeskip thing, rather than using a horizontal line, I went all 'book style' and used bold text instead. Is it disturbing?**

**Disclaimer: I don't even know why I need to do this. Do i even _need_** **to? Well, just to be on the safe side, I don't own anything except for the sentence structures. I don't own the songs mentioned, nor do i - Even though i'd really like to - own the mansion. **

* * *

Chapter Twelve – Now, I've got you.

* * *

Day eleven.

Three days left in Naruto's runaway paradise. After their romantic confession, Hinata was convinced that they would grow even closer, but it was the exact opposite. Naruto refused to sleep in the same bed as her, and when she'd asked why, he told her – with his back turned – that it would be too much for him. She didn't really know how she was meant to interpret his few words, but naturally had said nothing in response. They spoke, of course. And they laughed, of course. But _something _was different.

"Why are you only having bacon this morning?" Naruto asked Hinata dryly, staring down at her plate with a frown slashed across his tired face.

"I'm not very hungry…" She murmured.

"Well, at least you're not eating something healthy." He smiled. Girls who were constantly on diets were his least favorites. Just as he said that, Julie poured all the salad off her plate and collected bacon and Nutella instead. Fortunately, he didn't seem to notice.

That was one of the nice things he had started doing since the confession – watch her. His eyes never left her, no matter how far apart they were. If they were in the same room, she could rest assured that he was keeping an eye on her. Ever since the incident with Menma, Naruto had been extra clear with his gestures around Hinata to make sure that _all _boys would understand that she belonged to him, and him only. He was not into sharing.

"But honestly, Hinata, I'm worried about your strange diets. You need to consume more." He lectured her as he placed an omelet on his off-white porcelain plate. "Where is the music?"

"I'll turn it on!" Julie ran over to the ipod dock and connected her device to it. The song started, and Naruto immediately cringed in disgusting.

"What song is this?" She asked, knowing that his attention had been averted to the song.

"Toxic by Britney Spears. I don't fancy her music." He raised his voice for Julie to hear. "Isn't it a bit too early for this kind of music?" In return, Julie grinned and changed song. Before it could start, she was already on her way back to the buffet, proud of her choice.

"Oh~-" In a second, Naruto had strode up to the dock and ripped Julie's iPod out without hesitation. His hands shook as he pulled out his own and connected it.

'_Was that Justin Bieber?' _Hinata thought to herself as she watched Julie slam her face into the table out of humiliation. She was trying so hard to make Naruto like her, but everything she did only made him distance himself more.

Suddenly, a calm, mellifluous sound reverberated across the room. Naruto's music had begun, and he sighed in relief, knowing that there would be no more of Julie's terrible tastes. Hinata cast him a quizzical look as he approached her and sat down in his seat with a relaxed smile spread across his face.

"And this song?" She asked, curiously.

"Magic by Coldplay." Hinata knew nothing of English music, but it was nice to not have to think about what they were saying for once. His smile was contagious.

"There aren't many people left." He breathed. Hinata looked around and nodded in realization.

"Because the biggest party is over…" She glanced over in Julie's direction.

'_So why is she still there?' _The song came to an end, and just then, Minato entered the room. He walked briskly up to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder, to which is son shuddered in response.

"May I borrow Naruto for a little while, Hinata-chan?" His heart-warming smile was what made her nod. She looked at Naruto, who glared back at her with a dark, resenting expression. She should've said no.

When they left, she found herself alone at a table with people she didn't know. Of course, there was always Julie, but she would need to be damn-near suicidal in order to dare to speak with her at the breakfast table. The song playing now was called Idioteque, and Hinata only knew that because the iPod screen displayed it.

She poked her food, wondering when Naruto would be back. With time, her mind drifted over to something else: his parents. Why would they so suddenly visit him? Did they realize his accomplishments? Did they want something he had? Kushina had, after all, ransacked his whole apartment. But it begs the question: _What _do they want from him?  
Something wasn't right about the whole situation, but she didn't want to dwell in it. People would begin to question her state of mind if she'd sit still any longer.

'_How would I have met Naruto if he wasn't wealthy? Maybe, we'd go to the same school.' _She sighed. But his personality would be different, maybe he'd be immature. It was hard to imagine Naruto giggling when the teacher mentioned something that could be misinterpreted. It was even more difficult to imagine what his apartment would look like without anyone to clean it for him. She shook her head, revolted. Ew.

"Thank you." She bowed to one of the waiters before leaving the room, taking her plate with her. She wouldn't allow herself to succumb to the life of luxury. Should she leave the table without her plate at home, she would be in for a real beating.

"So, Hinata." She tensed at the sound of her name. Was someone actually willing to talk to her?

"Y-yes?" She urged.

"Where in Japan do you live?" She visibly relaxed. Something she wouldn't have to think about before answering, finally!

"Tokyo." Hinata smiled sweetly, earning a frown from the Julie.

"Do you do after-school activities?" The middle-aged French woman asked. She nodded.

"I'm also t-the cl-class president."

"What's that?"

"Hmm…" She thought, trying to put her english skills to good use. "My primary duty includes solving the problems any of my classmates might have, and inform the school of ideas that my class may have. I also organize events, activities and meetings for my class." All of the guests seated at the table appeared to be very impressed by her, all except for Julie, who scowled at her.

"I can see why Naruto likes you!"

"You're a perfect fit!" Hinata blushed, and heard his name echo in her head like a mantra.

'_Naruto…' _And through the ceiling, across a few rooms, he sat with him arms crossed, his lips in a straight line.

"What do you want."

"Naruto, please don't be so curt." Minato poured up a glass of iced water for the two of them before seating himself in front of his son. Chopin's Prelude Number four in E minor danced in the background, causing the atmosphere to somehow tense.

"Your girlfriend is wonderful. I'm proud of you, son." He smiled, the word 'proud' stinging Naruto like salt in a wound, but their eyes stayed on one another. Averting his eyes would mean his father's victory, and he didn't want that.

"Yes, we get along well." He said, frowning. "Just tell me what it is you're after." His father ignored him, his smile turning into a grin from ear to ear.

"Really, I'm so happy you're my son." Naruto smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Yeah."

"How is school going?" Naruto lit up at his opportunity to impress his father. Despite how his parents had treated him, deep down, he knew that he wanted them to like him.

"Straight A's. I'll be accepted into Tokyo University, Cambridge, Oxford, whatever, if I keep this up. The school activities are also perfect. I'm the best student that the school has ever had." He shrugged, trying to act like it was nothing, when in reality, he'd always wanted to say that.

"Good." Was all Minato said, and Naruto looked at him, somewhat appalled by the lack of care he had. Did his father not care anymore? Was his improvement not good enough?

"Your mother think you're almost ready to take over the business."

'_Almost?'_

"What if I have other dreams?" Naruto wasn't going to let his excitement get the better of him. He knew how hard his parents had worked to get where they were, and was well aware of how time-consuming the business was.

"Well, it would be a waste." Minato gazed at him, scrutinizing his every movement, trying to figure out if his son was pleased or not. "But we have one condition." He drew his breath audibly, and Minato took a cigar out of his drawer. When he lit it and held it carefully to his mouth, he spoke again.

"You must marry when you're eighteen." Naruto's eyebrows raised, and he pushed himself back in his chair. Marry? At the age of eighteen? What was this, an arranged marriage?

"Give me _one _good reason." _I dare you._

"We must know that you're mature enough." The son took notice of his father's misty red eyes. He had been smoking too much since they last met.

"We expect you to marry Hinata." His words caused a whirlwind of wrath to overcome Naruto, and realization struck him. What he did was unexpected, and Minato's eyebrows raised as his son stood sharply from his seat, slamming his tanned hands down on the wooden desk in anger.

"So that's what this is all about?!" He spat his words out like venom. "You're too lazy to take care of your own job!" Their eyes were still connected, blue against blue. They were similar in appearance, but nothing like each other.

"Calm down, son." Minato's tone made it clear that he was feeling inferior to his own son.

"I'm sick and tired of you pushing me around and controlling my life! I studied my ass off as a child, but you abandoned me for not being good enough – Do you hear?! You _left _me!" Naruto's hands were shaking, and he grabbed his shocked father by the collar, pulling him to level their faces.

"And now – when I finally get a life of my own, you come back and try to dump your company on me. Do you think money is all I care about?!" Minato could tell that Naruto was seething with rage, and dared not to speak.

"This… _This _is what you have to say to me… After all these years of not talking?" He grew vulnerable, and his grip loosened a bit. "You're so…" He bit his lip, trying to contain himself, but the words slipped out of his mouth, passed his gritted teeth. "Pathetic."

Just then, he felt something large collide with his cheek, causing him to turn his head to the side a bit. It went to quick, it wasn't until after a second that the pain took over and he flinched.

'_Did he just…'_

Minato had stood up, his eyes now wide from a mixture of emotions. Mainly disappointment and wrath.

"You just…" Naruto mumbled, not believing what his father had done.

"Just think about it. Oh, and we're going on the yacht today. Minato said, before storming out of the room with his hands balled into hard fists. If not for his self-control, he could've done worse. Much worse.

While he sat, glued to his chair in shock, Hinata was on her way to the room. She still couldn't really find her way around the enormous place they call home, but the maids were luckily quite helpful. If not for them, she would most likely be in the cellar at this point.

He hadn't come back, so she decided to return to her room and change into some better clothes – is what she had told the guests at the table, when she was really just trying to escape from Julie's glare. While she _was _making friends, she also felt that a few people had grown to hate her, just because she was Naruto's girlfriend. If only they knew what she had been through.

"What?! I can't believe that brat!" She stopped walking and threw herself behind a wall. Someone was talking – yelling, even, and the voice sounded familiar. Slowly, she peeked out from the side and caught sight of Kushina yelling at Minato. She was _pissed. _

"We're giving him so much money! Who cares about attention!? They _will _marry!" Her eyes widened. _Marry?_ Surely, they're not speaking of Naruto?

"He resents the idea of it all." Minato seemed annoyed, and had his hands tucked deep in his pockets. He was disappointed, disappointed in his son, Naruto.

"Well, I don't care about what he thinks. I want this workload off my back, and Naruto _will _take care of it!" Hinata gasped. They _were _talking about him!

Her sharp inhale of air didn't go unnoticed, and Kushina shot a glance over in Hinata's direction. Fortunately, she had retreated to the wall again. She patted it gently, as if thanking it for existing.

"Hmm…"

'_This place… These people… I don't feel safe here!'_

**He didn't say anything **as he entered their room. It wasn't until Hinata heard him throw his shoes into the wall that she turned around and realized that he was there. His teeth were gritted and his eyebrows were furrowed deeply, pushing his eyes nearly shut.

"Hinata." He spoke through gritted teeth. "I'd like to do something, will you let me?" Hinata, confused and a bit scared, forced herself to utter a small "yes" before he wrapped his arms around her. She stifled a gasp and hoped that he couldn't feel her pounding heart. But, then she noticed that his heart was beating much, much faster than hers. Was it because he was frustrated? Shocked? Maybe both?

She let a small smile escape across her lips, and just as she was about to ask if he was better, he suddenly swept her into the TV room, abruptly pushing he up against a wall. He grabbed her face between his hands, forcing her eyes to meet his ardent, determined ones. The second her lips parted for a gasp, he kissed her, violently. Very briefly, their teeth clashed, then his tongue delved into her mouth.

'_W-wh-what's going on?! He's kissing me… So… Deeply… I'm scared!' _She slammed her eyes shut, grasping the front of his shirt and digging her nails into it. Her whole body was tense, while his was relaxed. Even though something inside was telling her to give in to him, she felt reluctant, and tried to pull away. He wasn't being himself.

'_Please… No more…' _Her thoughts seemed to reach him, and he broke of the kissin the middle of everything. His blue eyes gaze down at her, luminous with the kind of desire Hinata has yet to understand. But she felt it for as long as the silence stretched, and couldn't bring herself to speak.

"We're going on the yacht. Bring a bikini." He mumbled before stepping back and leaving the room in a hurry. It looked like he was trying to contain himself from saying, or doing something.

Hinata's face was flushed. She didn't know how to react. It was only four days ago since she had her first mutual love kiss with him, and that was almost enough to make her faint! Now, her first French kiss – with Naruto! There would be lots of 'firsts' with him, she was sure. Never before had she known what it was like, but now she finally understood what Sakura and Ino were talking about. She would – for the first time – be able to join them in their boy talk – if she dared.

She was no expert, but Hinata knew that no man should be able to kiss that well the first time. She felt like a complete idiot for not doing anything but leave her mouth open as he did all the work. His tongue… It had massaged against hers in such a stimulating manner, she was introduced to something new – and she hated to admit it, but it was wonderful. Feeling the taste of Naruto in her mouth was absolutely _delicious. _

But something wasn't right.

'_Why did he kiss me like that?' _And then the thought of it being related to his parents passed through her mind, and she quickly tried to shrug it off. Surely, their situation couldn't be _that _bad.

**The boat nearly levitated **on above the surface of the water. She stared. Stared. And stared.

How could people be this rich!?

"It's 88,50 meters long, has a total of six decks, a 7.5 meter swimming pool, a helipad, twelve bedrooms, a lounge, 3D cinema, a gym, and gives a top speed of 20 knots. She's powered by twin 3,600kW MTU 20V 4000M73L engines and – " Minato continued to speak with the pride spilling out of his voice as Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and began getting on.

"He's so annoying…" He muttered under his breath, but Hinata heard.

"This yacht… It's not normal, is it?" Was the only thing she could utter while staring in awe at all the things around her. Naruto smiled and shook his head. "No, it's not normal. My dad loves boats. He invested thirty billion yen in this thing. Took him a while." This _thing_. Hinata realized that he wasn't too fond of it. She dropped her jaw. This boy was out of her world.

"T-thirty…B-bi-billion!?" Her voice was louder than she wanted it to be.

Then, he grinned and changed the topic.

"But, I must say, it's gonna be fun seeing Hinata in a bikini today!"

"A-ah…" She flushed in embarrassment. How was she meant to answer that?

"Let's go to our room." He emphasized the 'our' when a male crew member stepped on the boat and walked passed them.

They passed through several rooms and one floor before reaching their room, which was lit up in a dim way. They were only going to stay one night, but everything had been so well-prepared, she thought for a moment that it would be longer.

"I can't believe this…" She mumbled. It was too much for her.

The speakers on the boat played "Fly me to the moon" by Frank Sinatra. It felt like they were back in the 1950's, but the boat's sheer existence reminded her that they weren't.

"Well, let's get changed!" Naruto was excited. He threw his t-shirt off, already ready to go. His bathing shorts suited him perfectly, being orange with some exotic blue flower print on the bottom right leg. They hung down hips like… She couldn't describe it, but the feeling in her stomach told her it was attractive.

"O-okay…" She awkwardly turned her back to him and began lifting her dress, knowing well that he was watching her.

"Hurry up!" He moaned, and it was thanks to his innocence that she could so naturally expose her bare skin to him. Her bikini was, unfortunately not as simple as she wanted it to be. Even after being influenced to not wear her one-piece, the maids had continued telling her to wear an even more intricate one. They kept telling her that intricate details would be the best, so she finally gave in to them, and now she was sporting a multi-colored – mainly red bikini with crazy, abstract shapes in grey and blue – both dark and bright. The enormous red flower in her hair was a perfect way of topping it all off.

He gaped at her.

"You… You look stunning!" She blushed, and gave in to the urge to cover herself with her towel. He didn't seem to mind too much, though. In fact, he seemed a bit relieved that she did it. It helped him stop staring.

"Th-thank you…" She whispered, and he gave her a lazy, sexy smile.

"Shall we depart, m'lady?" He held his hand out to her, and she giggled.

'_I was so mad this morning, and yet, I feel like in floating on clouds now. She really has beguiled me.' _

As they walked, Naruto began to grow more and more anxious.

"You know…" He started. "I'm sorry about… Before..." He glanced into her eyes, trying to read her mind and see her emotions. "Did it scare you?" Hinata blushed, and shook her head, deciding to be honest.

"B-but… You we-we're mad…" His expression darkened, and he shifted his gaze to the ocean. "Yeah, I was."

"Wh-why…?" She asked cautiously.

"Can I tell you later? I want to enjoy this without having to think about it." He said, trying to brighten the mood a bit. When they reached the pool, some people were already there. "Oh, and I _sure as hell _enjoyed that kiss from before." Hinata panicked and wrapped her hands around his arm, tugging.

"N-Naruto! Y-you can't… s-say that h–here!" He laughed, clearly amused by her reaction.

As they laughed and joked, the yacht started up. All the preparations had been made, and the Uzumaki parents had decided on a trip along the coast.

Naruto strode up to the bar, hand in hand with Hinata.

"One alcohol-free piña colada and one of your choice. Just make it non-alcoholic." He ordered.

"Right away, sir." The bartender began working his magic as Naruto and Hinata seated themselves. After a minute or so, she had let go of the towel and now had it in her lap.

"What are your thoughts on marriage?" He asked, trying to sound indifferent, and succeeded.

"Hmm…" She thought, while watching the Dr. Phil show with French subtitles on the tv in the bar. "I want to get married one day. It means that we'll be able to trust each other completely."

"Not everyone that gets married trusts. Sometimes, it's just for money." She shook her head sadly.

"I can only speak for myself when I say that… I would never marry a man for his money." She seemed dazed, absolutely absorbed into the TV-show. But her words meant a lot to him, more than she could imagine.

"You'll be a great wife." He smiled, only then catching her full attention. She blushed madly.

'_I hope so, Naruto-kun.'_

Suddenly, a blush spread across his cheeks and he averted his eyes awkwardly, but he glanced back at least ten times before whispering something only she could hear.

"Why are you biting your lip like that? It's really distracting." It was only then that she noticed that she was doing it. "And you look like you're begging for something, too…" She opened her mouth, releasing her teeth from her moistened lip. His eyes blaze with some kind of emotion unknown to Hinata, and he, without warning, leaned forward in the bar chair and kissed her.

As soon as he sat straight again, he burst into laughter. Putting a hand on his stomach, he used the other to support himself from falling off his barstool. Hinata just sat, shocked.

"Your expression – haha!" He continued to laugh, and was smiling even after he'd sobered.

"Bu-but…! Y-you can-can't just…" She trailed off.

"Of course we can kiss! We're together! In fact, we're considered to be shy in a place like France." Time passed, and they eventually ordered ice cream.

"A pistachio ice-cream for me." He looked expectantly at Hinata. "And you? What will you have?" She smiled in return.

"A strawberry ice-cream, please."

'_He's making me so bold… I wonder if it's a good thing…' _

"So, if you could go anywhere, where would you go?" Naruto leaned against the counter and smiled at her.

"Hmm… Maybe India…" He cocked his head to the side.

"India? I thought it'd be like, Australia or the U.S, but India?" He requested confirmation and Hinata nodded.

"India would be nice…" Her voice was quiet.

"Hey." He said, once again grinning. "Wanna try my ice-cream?"

**She clicked across **the screen, frantically trying to find the information she was searching for, but failing miserably. Hinata's name wouldn't appear, no matter what she did.

"I could try google translate." She typed Hinata's name and added 'class president', then clicked 'Translate'. After the symbols showed up on the screen and she copied and pasted them into the search bar.

Suddenly, a photo in the images appeared. It was one of Hinata, smiling nervously with a prize of some kind. As soon as she clicked on the URL, the site was redirected to one with the name of "Koyamadai High school".

"It doesn't say 'Private' anywhere…" She whispered.

The browser offered to translate the whole page to French and she accepted it. Suddenly, a tab saying 'scholarship students' appeared, and her eyes widened. She clicked, scrolled down and located the photo. Beneath it was the caption 'scholarship student: Hyuuga Hinata wins 'Best Student' award second year in a row'.

Her lips twisted into a disgustingly knowing smirk.

"_Now, I've got you."_

* * *

Hope you liked it.

I don't really have much to say... Please review!

**Next up!**

Hinata and Naruto are going home, but first, he must say goodbye to those who live further away. Julie uses this opportunity to tell Naruto's parents **the truth. **

How will they react?!


	13. Uzumaki Julie

**_Uzumaki Julie_**

* * *

Welcome to chapter thirteen! As you can read from the chapter title, the next issue has already come up. I took a while to release this chapter because I have my final stuff.

WARNING: There will be romance in this.

Alright, so the story so far.

Hinata visits an extravagant high-rise apartment thinking that she's going to babysit for the family living in it. However, when she opens the door, she's met by a boy her age, who, for some inexplicable reason suggests that she instead become his personal maid. Desperate for a change in her boring life, she accepts.

A sports tournament versus her employer's school causes the two to run into each other during school time and Naruto challenges her to a game of badminton, claiming that if he wins, she'll have to wear a maid uniform during her working hours. Evidently not even close to as good as him, Hinata loses terribly. By this time, the schools most popular boy, Uchiha Sasuke has begun trying to talk to her, but to no avail.

Hinata finds out that the newspaper that had advertised the need of a babysitter was two weeks old. A student from Naruto's private school by the name of Namikawa Shouta starts socializing with her during her train rides to Naruto's house.

This is when things suddenly get a bit intimate. Hinata comes home to him, drenched from the rain and Naruto makes his first move on her without thinking. He quickly pulls away and gets her some clothes. Realizing that he for some reason doesn't have any panties (I mean like, what guy DOESN'T have a pair of spare panties?), he tells her to shower while he goes to purchase some.

This leaves them to think through their actions and current situations. When Naruto gets back, he finds her asleep and calls to tell her dad that she needs to sleep over. After a few hours of studying, he comes back and finally gives in to the temptation of kissing her for the first time. It goes unknown and the next time he wakes up, he's the sick one.

Later in the school year, Naruto finally gives Hinata her uniform, which he dearly regrets doing. He goes one step too far by kissing her. This distances the two of them greatly and Naruto is too afraid to talk to her. He brings a girl home one day and Hinata is –naturally- shocked, because she thought that she might've meant something to him. Having the impression that she was not interested in him, Naruto is very bewildered to say the least. Nevertheless, he feels guilty. After a week of being avoided, Naruto decides to surprise Hinata by clean his own house. Unfortunately, the food explodes (because he microwaved metal) and they're forced to eat fried dumplings and unhealthy snacks. They spend the night doing nothing but talking and getting to know each other better.

When Tokyo finally starts to heat up, Hinata is met by one of the biggest obstacles in her life: Naruto's parents. They immediately assume that she and Naruto are together, and book a first-class trip to "the hulk". Thinking that it's inside of Japan, Hinata decides to go for Naruto's sake. Little does she know, the "hulk" was a joking name for their mansion in the French Riviera. They meet their biggest problem already on the first day, Julie, who has since a long time back had a crush on Naruto. Of course, this girl proves to be a big issue for Hinata, but she is also what leads to Naruto's confession.

Minato speaks to his son face-to-face and informs him of that he wants Naruto to take over their company. Naruto, flustered about his father's true reason for inviting him and Hinata to their summer home, loses his cool. He is _not _happy to hear it, but Minato slaps his son across the face, leaving the room after telling him that they are going on a boat ride that evening.

And here we are! Eleventh day and Julie isn't giving up! She finds out that Hinata actually doesn't belong to a private school, and what's worse – she's a scholarship student.

* * *

Naruto heaved a sigh as he silently closed the door behind him. Even though the clock had just hit seven and the day was far from over, he and Hinata had returned to their bedroom for a chance to change into warmer clothes. They had gotten quite used to sleeping in the same bed, and although Hinata still fainted whenever Naruto would sleep with his legs thrown across her, she had to admit that it had gotten quite cozy to be with him like that. If she were to have been told that she'd be in the sleeping in the same room as her employer on a yacht in the French Riviera during spring break, she would never have believed it.

And yet, here they were, smiling warmly at each other inside the safety of their very own bedroom. So much had happened, but they both felt like they could take on anything as long as they were together.

"Thanks for today, I really don't know what I'd do without you sometimes..." He said, still smiling.

"I'm glad... I can be here..." Hinata tried to and failed at sounding as calm as him. Clearly, he was a lot more relaxed around her than she was with him. She thought that it probably had to do with the fact that she wasn't half as good-looking as him. "But... I really think you should tell your parents..." She added meekly, to which Naruto frowned.

"They would send you home. We would never be able to see each other again...!" He spoke up worriedly, his care for her spilling out of his mouth clear enough for her to take notice of.

"Naruto..." But she didn't want to argue.

Apparently, it was already hard enough for him. If what his parents had said was true and Kushina and Minato really wanted him to marry her, then he already had too much to think about. Would he ever tell her what Minato and he had spoken about, or would he keep it a secret?

"Hinata." He whispered, pulling her out of her insecurity. "Try not to think about it too much, I'll deal with them." Her eyes widened at his words. Was he a mind-reader?

"Don't you trust me...?" Her voice was small and gentle, and bore no sign of annoyance.

"I do! It's just... I don't wanna trouble you with my problems." He murmured, averting his eyes.

"I've already forced you to come here, and all..-"

"I want to be here!" Suddenly, she raised her voice above him, causing Naruto to look down at her with a look of surprise.

"I want... To be with Naruto... No matter what..." Hinata's expression had changed, and she spoke as quietly as a dog whistle.

"What?"

"I want..."

'_I can't believe I said that!' _ Her straightforwardness didn't last very long. She felt his blue gaze on her, and rather than feeling like the sky was watching her, it was more like a tsunami trying to wash her over.

'_Words can't express how I feel about him…'_ She looked insecurely up at him.

'_Could I be the one to express my feelings this time…? But we're alone… In our own bedroom!' _

"U-uhm…" He waited patiently for her to speak, and for the first time ever, she wished he hadn't done that.

"Y-you see…"

'_I need to be honest with him!' _Shoving her uncertainty out of her head, Hinata stood up and wrapped her arms around Naruto, making him gasp in surprise, but he soon returned the embrace.

"I get it." He breathed.

"Then, let's live in this fantasy world for a few more days." She nodded in silent agreement. There were only a few days left, after all. Nothing could go wrong, right?

"On a side topic, you smell intoxicating." He whispered, his hand moving down to her waist daringly. Hinata suppressed a gasp and blushed madly in embarrassment.

_'He's touching me... And I'm only wearing a bikini...! Is this...?! The next... Step?!'_

Ino had told her that if a guy was touches her bare back and she _isn't _wearing a backless dress, he is trying to move to the next stage, and if she found it the least bit scary, she should make him stop now. Her eyes grew wide in shock and Naruto felt her whole body stiffen.

'_But… I don't want him to stop…' _

"Are you nervous..?"

Hinata decided to be honest and nodded slowly.

"A little." She confessed.

"Me too…"

But despite his nervousness, Naruto continued to explore. "If you want me to stop, just push me away." His voice caused cold chills to skate down her back, and of course, he felt it. But it was at that moment that she felt that his hand was trembling.

"Ugh… I don't feel very cool right now." He made a move to pull away, but Hinata finally woke up and grasped his hand.

"That's not true…! I think… I think Naruto is really cool…!"

'_Way to go, Hinata. Your charisma is mind-blowing.' _She mentally beat herself.

Naruto let out a small laugh, and Hinata fell back on the bed, wanting to disappear forever. "Thanks, Hinata." He smiled, genuinely.

Suddenly, before she could exhale, she felt the sides of the mattress next to her shoulders sink down. When she opened her eyes, the tickling sensation of his soft blonde hair teased her face.

'_H-he… He's on… on top of me!' _Could she do this? Was she smooth enough? Would it hurt?!

But he didn't touch her. Instead, he gazed at her, as if in disbelief. His expression had shifted into serenity. He appeared calm, but at the same time full of desire, and without thinking, Hinata bit down on her lower lip. Her small fingers clutched onto the black pinstriped bed sheets and she pushed herself further down in the bed. In all honesty, she didn't know if she was doing it because she wanted to widen their proximity, or if she wanted to invite him closer.

She had only recently met him. Three months, and for some terrible reason, it felt like they were taking things too fast. While she wanted him to pamper her, she also wanted to get to know him better. Was there more to him? Did he want to learn more about her?  
Her brain was telling her to stop, and her body was telling him to continue. Which would take over? For now, all she was doing was laying deadly still.

Ignoring her undying anxiety, Naruto gave her a lazy smile. "It feels like a dream, being with you like this." She wanted to agree, to say the same, but she just couldn't form words. She was too shocked, too afraid, too excited, too _aroused_.

She blinked up at him, and he relinquished her hand and pulled at her chin, releasing her trapped lip. His lips covered hers, once again catching her off-guard, and this time she was quick to kiss him back. The setting was just simply perfect, even though she felt that she'd finally accepted his wealth. She wanted to act like it didn't bother her, but as a quite poor Japanese girl in the French Riviera on a 30 billion yen yacht, it was still proving to be quite difficult.

Of course, it wasn't his money that had made her fall for him. He could've been poor for all she cared, and she was certain that her feelings for him wouldn't change. But if not for his wealth, she may have _actually _been a babysitter right now.

He pushed himself back slightly to let her breathe, but once she'd inhaled again, his lips were once again on hers, coaxing, coercing her lips apart as his arms enfolded her, pulling her to him. His hand moved up her arched back, his fingers tangling in the hair at the back of her head and tugging gently, while the other hand flattened on her lower back.

"Naruto." Minato coughed awkwardly, standing by the door that had somehow been opened without either of them noticing, and Naruto released Hinata immediately.

"Father." His voice was frigid. Once he'd gotten off the bed and Hinata had covered herself underneath the bed sheets in utter shame, Minato spoke again.

"There's dinner down by the pool." Hinata pulled the sheets down a bit to see the uncomfortable Minato standing on the threshold to the room, staring at Naruto, some unspoken communication passing between them. _How awkward..!_

"Mm…" Naruto did not seem either pleased or embarrassed. Rather, he appeared to be somewhat annoyed. Once Minato had left, Naruto's facial expression brightened and he turned to Hinata with a grin adorning his tanned face. "Should we get ready?" She felt her heart sink. The kissing had been so stimulating, and she didn't want to sound like a desperate middle-aged woman, but she would much rather spend time alone with him.

'_I wonder what Naruto is thinking…' _She sighed and nodded while beginning to dress in some evening clothes, allowing Naruto's teasing smirk to go unnoticed.

**Once they arrived, **most of the guests were already finished with their dinner and had moved on to alcohol. Some were already drunk.

A waited approached them, smiling. "What can I get for you two tonight?"

"I'll have the Cornish Lobster and Hand cut chips." Naruto answered quite quickly. He knew what he was doing. "Hinata, what would you like to drink?"

"What you'll have." She whispered nervously, trying to look busy by reading the menu. The waiter waited patiently for her to order her main course as well.

"Maybe… The slow roasted Gloucestershire old spot pork…" She said it in a more questioning manner, and the waiter took note and left. Naruto smiled appraisingly and opened his mouth to speak.

"You seem more comfortable with letting me buy you things now." Hinata immediately looked at him in panic.

"I-I-I'll pay you b-ba-back wh-when we get back!" He waved his hand up and down, showing a "I-take-that-back" face.

"I _want _to spend money on _you, _if anyone." Even though Hinata didn't quite understand, she decided to change the topic.

"What song is this?" She asked, looking around for who-knows-what.

"Good question, I'm not quite sure… Some dumb jazz." He muttered as he watched the waiter approach them with the drinks. "Anyway, I need to tell you something." Hinata gave Naruto her full attention.

"Breathe, Hinata." It was only then that she realized that she'd been holding her breath. "It's nothing worth dying for." He chuckled, and Hinata gasped for air, wondering why she was holding her breath. Was it something bad he had to say?

Just as he was about to continue, a girl dressed in nothing but a bikini and a caked layer of orange-ish foundation sat down next to Naruto. Hinata mentally scowled at her. When would she give up!?  
Julie's eyes met hers and they both stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Eventually – and quite unexpectedly – Julie gave her a 'I-know-something-you-don't-'smirk and averted her eyes. What was that all about?

"Naruto, Kushina and Minato wanted me to tell you that your grandmother wants to see you before you go home." She said, forcing the edge of Hinata's glass between her lips and drinking all of its contents.

"U-uhm…" _That's __**my **__glass!_

"Is that all? You didn't need to come over here, disrupt our romantic evening, sit next to me or drink everything in Hinata's glass in order to tell me." Julie moaned in annoyance.

"Naruto, you're so harsh!" But somehow, she seemed happy and quite confident in herself today.

The dinner's details were none of particular significance after that, other than the creepy grin Julie had been directing at Hinata throughout the whole course, but as soon as the public meeting was over and the happy couple were on their way back to the room together, things started getting interesting again.

"Do you trust me?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"Trust… you?" She repeated, tasting the words in her mouth.

"Yeah!"

"Sure, I trust you, Naruto."

"That's great!" He grinned, clearly relieved. Then, his expression turned serious and his eyelids fell halfway down his eyes, making him appear somewhat tired – or perhaps even bored – but to Hinata, he just looked seductive.

"Then I'd like for you to trust me as much as you possibly can. I might say some stuff, but try to handle it, okay?" His voice was slow and clear, like he was speaking to a child.

'_What is this all about?' _She wanted to ask, but all she could do was nod, sensing Naruto's anxiety.

"Cool. I plan on creating disaster, and as much as I'd like for it to get to as many people as possible, you're the only one I don't want affected." She couldn't comprehend what he was saying, but she knew that if he wanted or could tell her, he would've by now.

"I… I'll try to…" She whispered, and Naruto's grin returned. "I'm glad, Hinata!"

He unlocked the door and let Hinata in first before stepping in himself. "What do you think of chivalry?" he inquired, closing the door and unbuttoning his shirt. Hinata let her hair out and sat down in front of a mirror, thinking.

"I think it's a tradition that should be kept." She answered.

"But today's average neurotic feminists consider it sexism."

"I don't…" Naruto sighed, his mind clearly preoccupied with thoughts.

"I opened a door for a girl once and for some weird reason, she said 'I can hold it myself, you stupid sexist!'. It vexed me."

'_Having unimportant conversations with Naruto like this, it's cozy…' _She thought to herself while leaving the room to change. Once inside the bathroom, she shifted so that she was facing the mirror and pulled slightly on her cheeks. Too pale. She stared at her lips. Too plump. Her eyes glided to her breasts. Too big.

Hinata sighed. The list goes on, but Naruto would eventually begin to wonder if she'd been gassed to death if she took longer than five minutes to get changed. She observed her reflection and an unwelcomed thought entered her mind. _Why _did Naruto like her?  
She ran a trembling hand through her hair, trying to calm herself down. He would be much better off with someone rich and pretty like Julie, and he would never have to worry about his parents not accepting her for who she is. Of course, that would never work out because Naruto had already made it more than clear that he had no such feelings for her.

Speaking of weird people.

'_I wonder what happened to Menma.' _She wondered, secretly hoping that the boat trip would last forever.

Naruto leaned back in the bed and yawned loudly while throwing his hands behind his head. He had a lot on his mind, and his expression proved that even someone who could normally only look extremely bored or extremely excited could be dead-serious.

"What kind of revenge…" He mumbled tiredly.

Suddenly, the door swung open and slammed into the wall, causing Naruto to fly out of his bed. Minato ran up to him, eyes wide in horror and very, _very _much anger.

"I can't believe it!" And Naruto knew that because Julie was standing on the threshold next to Kushina that it had to do with Hinata. He grew slightly anxious. What _had _he done?

"Hinata isn't rich at all!" He shouted. "You lied to us!" His voice boomed throughout the room, echoing and breaking through the walls and spreading into the neighboring rooms. "You damn liar!"

'_She told them! But, how did she know?!'_

" I didn't lie to you about anything. You jumped to conclusions." He stated matter-of-factly, trying to stay calm. He was still mad at his father for his evil, disgusting plan, and for that reason wanted to argue back.

"You should've told us!" Kushina yelled back.

"Well, what do you suggest I do!?" Naruto lost his cool, shouting back in such a way that the whole boat must've heard him.

Kushina smiled. "Marry Julie instead."

Naruto's eyes widened, and he was shocked into silence. When he regained his composure, he narrowed his eyes greatly and stared into his mother's eyes.

"I really _do _hate you two." He whispered.

"To hell with your company! I'd rather be a happy man with Hinata!" Named girl opened the bathroom door and peeked out, wondering what the commotion was all about.

"Hey you! Scholarship student!" Julie called out to Hinata. "Pack your stuff, you're going home!"

Little did anyone know, a seed of a plan was planted inside of Naruto's brain at that very moment. He'd figured out how he was going to go about the revenge finally, but he knew that it would certainly hurt Hinata. He'd told her to trust him, but would she be able to hold out for this? He would just have to wait and see, because after all, he was a man who performed his actions before thinking.

"Wait a minute." He cut off. "Julie?" Minato nodded slowly.

"Alright, I'll marry her."

* * *

**What is Naruto thinking? Does this mean the end of their relationship?**

**Trust him, Hinata!**


	14. Together

Chapter Fourteen: Together

* * *

Let the hate flow through you…

I feel like I write a lot, when I don't, really. Kinda sad that 4000 words isn't as much as I'd hoped it was.. I usually want to publish my chapters on the same day, but it seems like I still have a long way to go. Lots of typos, and I **hate **rereading. It's like eating your own food. Just doesn't taste as good.

For those who are reading all of my stories: I am still working on a good schedule, but I will publish the chapters for the more popular stories quicker, as there's a higher demand on them.

**Most important stories:**

**1. Gakusei Meido**

**2. A Beautiful Princess**

**3. The White Handkerchief**

**4. Crescendo**

**5. Sleeping With the Enemy**

I feel like I have completed High School of Disasters, but although there isn't a lot of interest, I will – for the sake of those who _do _read it – publish the bonus chapter sometime soon. No exact date.

I moved to Antarctica today. Felt warmer.

I laugh at my reviews sometimes. People like to make assumptions about me. My gender, my nationality, etc. Everything you need can be found in my biography.

Any questions? Too bad. We need to get started.

Like you all have been sayings, Hinata needs to trust him. He warned her, but can she handle it? Can his words make up for his actions?

Find out!

* * *

"Alright, I'll marry her." Naruto gave his father a dark, secretive smirk, and something told Hinata that he was harboring something much unexpected up his sleeve. .

"Well, that was easy." Kushina smiled, relieved that her son would finally take over their company. This way, she could abandon all of the stupid workers and bills that were stacking up. Her son would continue to live up to their reputation, and she could retire happily – Not with Minato, but with some younger man who could keep her alive.

Hinata's eyes widened fractionally as she ran Naruto's words through her head like a mantra. No matter how many times she twisted and tried to reinterpret them, the words would not change their meaning. They couldn't mean anything other than that he'd just said. Why would he marry her? He told her that he _didn't _even like her, and now? Her heart began to pound as she looked around for something – anything to hide her from this storm she'd somehow stepped into.

Was this going to be like last time? He'd come back and apologize for being so insecure in front of his parents? She wasn't one to walk, but he needed to stand up for himself for once!

Her breathing accelerated as more and more people began rushing into the room.

"Come on! Get out before we have you thrown out, scholarship student!" Julie rushed, clearly pleased by the change in direction of Naruto's and Hinata's love life. Hinata quickly turned to her and narrowed her eyes at her. This _wasn't _okay.

But then realization struck her.

'_**"Do you trust me?" Naruto suddenly asked.**_

_**"Trust**__**…**__** you?" She repeated, tasting the words in her mouth.**_

_**"Yeah!"**_

_**"Sure, I trust you, Naruto."**_

_**"That's great!" He grinned, clearly relieved. Then, his expression turned serious and his eyelids fell halfway down his eyes, making him appear somewhat tired **__**–**__** or perhaps even bored **__**–**__** but to Hinata, he just looked seductive.**_

_**"Then I'd like for you to trust me as much as you possibly can. I might say some stuff, but try to handle it, okay?" His voice was slow and clear, like he was speaking to a child.**_

He told her to trust him despite what might happen.

Hinata tried to resist, but eventually a small giggle escaped her lips, and Julie turned to look at her. When their eyes met, Hinata gave Julie the biggest grin she could, and her white teeth blinded the maddened girl before her.

'_I won't let her think she has won.. .'_

Julie scowled. "Get out!"

"But the boat hasn't stopped yet."

"I don't care! Swim to land!"

"Julie, that's too much." Kushina stepped in, actually putting a limit on Julie's side. "She'll be sent home tomorrow, so she'll sleep in the mansion cellar tonight." Minato had already left to tell the captain to turn back and take them home.

"Sorry, Hinata." Naruto smiled apologetically, and Hinata felt her chest pang at the sight of it.

"I can't believe you… would…" She played along, despite the fact that his words actually hurt her. Julie smirked triumphantly and watched Hinata cower beneath those around her.

"My parents are right. You're nothing but a poor girl. I bet you were just with me for my money." He spat, and Hinata sincerely wanted to cry at how honest he sounded. It all felt so realistic, she was even holding back the tears that kept threatening to give her away. Even if it was all an act she really didn't want Julie to get the best of her.

Of course, she had no idea how much Naruto was fighting to utter those words. To him, it was all blatant lies, and he was surprised that his parents even fell for it. They were just so desperate at this point that anything he said was enough.

'_I hope this is all according to your plan, Naruto. I trust you.' _And while she wanted to convince herself that those were her true feelings, she couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy. If it really was all a lie – how would he get out of it? Where would they go?

'_Why does loving Naruto have to be so difficult__…__?' _Why did there have to be so much more to him? She wanted to love every part of him, but parents who tried to set up a marriage between him and Julie in the French Riviera on a 30 billion worth yacht was too much. Why couldn't they just have stayed in Japan?

"I hear there's supposed to be a storm tomorrow." Naruto stated, his smile turning into a smirk. "She can leave on the day that we were supposed to leave.

"But I trust that _you'll_ stay longer for Julie's sake." Minato almost commanded.

"Of course, father." Naruto's smirk twisted into an ear-to-ear grin and he turned happily to his father. "And I would like to sign the papers for the company tomorrow. Julie, make whatever preparations you'd like for the wedding, I'll stay in France." Kushina raised an eyebrow.

"You really had a change of heart."

"Aren't you happy?" He asked, and Kushina shrugged.

"You're finally becoming the son I've always wanted to have." Naruto's expression faltered for a second, but he quickly – too quickly – regained his composure. It didn't go unnoticed by Hinata, and although she had her head lowered in shame before those around her, she would not let her eyes leave him. If he were to sometime – somehow reveal a hint of what he was going to do, she would see it.

"What can I say? It's in my blood."

'_Naruto__...__' _She wanted to say something, but held her tongue. Right now, speaking was not the right thing for her to do. Naturally feeling inferior to everyone in the room, she bowed her head and watched her boyfriend leave with Julie.

"Let's sleep in the same room!" Julie grabbed Naruto's arm, and for a moment, he appeared to be very disgusted. Then, his eyes shifted to Hinata's and he winked reassuringly to her.

'_Trust me, Hinata. I need to finish this once and for all.'_

"_Please, don't let me down__…__'_

* * *

**She had gotten absolutely **no sleep during the night, and it became evident to those around her when she walked out on deck with dark circles hanging below her eyes. The journey had been cut short because of the recent revelation, and Hinata had been sent to pack as soon as they got back to the mansion. On top of that, she'd been forced to sleep on in the cold cellar throughout the night with nothing but a scrawny blanket with mold all over it. When she thought about it, this was her payment for agreeing to help Naruto out with his parents. He had gone to such lengths in order to please his parents and maybe – just maybe – make them love him. As soon as they realized that she wasn't a rich princess from the west, but instead some pathetic scholarship student from Tokyo, his parents had told her to pack her stuff and leave.

And all because she wanted to help him.

Naruto was preparing to sign the contract together with his parents and Julie. Hinata had no idea what the two had done last evening, but judging from Julie's expression when the stepped off the Yacht, it was more than she had ever done with him. She wanted to believe that their love was strong enough to endure this, and she knew that Naruto was trying to solve the issue with his parents, but she felt absolutely terrible. It made her mad, because she didn't want to be acting so pathetic when Naruto was trying so hard for her.

'_But he's not actually going to sign the contract, is he?'_

She still had no idea what he was planning, but based on his confidence, it had to be something sinister. Naruto was up to no good, and she could kill to find out what it was. Was he going to alter the contract?

To make her terrible mental state worse, Naruto hadn't said a single thing to her ever since last night despite frequently having the opportunity to, and she was – although it pained her to admit it – beginning to doubt him.

"Naruto, it's time to sign the contract!" Minato called out to Naruto, who was busy eating watermelon in the breakfast hall. He put the fruit down, wiped his hands off on a waiter's attire and ran after his father. He looked so lively, so enthusiastic – either his trick was going to be absolutely mind-blowing, or he was actually enjoying the thought of it all.

'_Perhaps he feels more loved this way, and Julie is much prettier than I am__…__.' _Hinata straightened out her dress and sighed.

"Let's go to my office, okay?" Minato and Naruto walked up to the stairs, and a lightbulb appeared above Hinata's head.

'_I should follow and see if he's actually going to sign it!' _ And with that, she abandoned all her food and stalked after the two Uzumaki's.

"Where were you this morning?"

"Picking Julie's wedding dress and at the bank, father." Naruto replied curtly.

"Oh? For what reason?"

"Moving some money over."

"So your marriage is completely prepared now?"

Yeah. The first ceremony is tomorrow."

"So soon!"

"Well, it's exciting."

"I see. The weather is getting worse." Minato commented while looking out of the window by the stairs. The rain was gently pattering against the glass. A mellifluous sound, to say the very least.

'_He went to the bank__…__?'_

"Oh, that reminds me. Your biggest rival is Ramona Inc., right?" Minato shivered and frowned while nodding.

"Yeah, Miyamoto Naoki is not one to mess with. Don't let him take over the company no matter what. He'll ruin it."

"I see."

Naruto opened the door to his father's office and they both stepped inside. Hinata remained by the stairs outside of his line of vision, but close enough to have heard their whole conversation. Finally, what she had been anticipating. She ran up the stairs and pushed her ear against the wooden barrier. As the office was on the top floor with no other rooms, she needn't worry about having to explain herself to anyone.

Their voices were slightly muffled, but she could roughly make out what they were saying.

This was it, the moment of truth. If he signed the contract, it would all be over. Naruto would take over the company and marry Julie. He would stay in France and send her home.

"Trust him, Hinata…" She whispered to herself reassuringly. He told her to trust him.

"Just sign here." Minato spoke up first, and Naruto's voice was absent.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Fifteen seconds.

Twent-

"Wow, my handwriting is terrible!" Naruto laughed, and Minato joined him.

Wait.

Does that mean…?

Hinata gasped audibly and pushed herself away from the door in utter shock and horror.

He signed the contract.

"What was that?"

'_No!' _She stumbled, but ran down the stairs before Minato could reach the door. From behind him, Naruto showed an expression of slight worry.

* * *

**Last day**

**She threw her clothes into **her bag, gasping for air. The tears flooded down her cheeks as she tried to stifle her whimpers. It wasn't working, and her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying. It wasn't going to work. She had been crying all night without wink of sleep, and not even a tint of her sadness had subsided.

Hinata pressed the last article of clothing into her bag – and suddenly, everything fell to the floor. She followed suit, collapsing to her knees and clutching her head. It was too much, she couldn't bear to wait anymore.

'_We just__…__ Weren't meant to be__…__' _

This was the last time she would allow herself to cry for him. Never again would she scream and pull at her hair for a guy who didn't even blink as he accepted Julie as his bride. Not even a thank you for coming with him all the way to the French Riviera.

Did he even love her?

_Knock knock._

"Hinata?" She gasped. No! Not him! Anyone but him!

"Leave…" She whispered.

"Hinata?"

"Leave." She tried again, her voice cracking as she spoke.

"Hinata, I'm coming in." He began to open the door, but her voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed, bowing her head so that her hair would the tears that streamed down her cheeks because of him. All because of him.

"You…" She couldn't see him, but he was shocked. His eyes began to scan the room from where he was standing, and he inevitably caught sight of the fallen suitcase. His eyes widened in alarm.

"I told you to trust me…" He took a sharp breath, running his hand through his hair. Naruto moved towards her until he was standing in front of her. When he reached out to touch her, she moved back instinctively. He dropped his hand and blinked at her, looking as though he was seized with absolute panic.

"You're leaving…?" His voice was shaky as he whispered the words, his eyes widening with fear.

"I can't…. Take this anymore…"

"But… You… I _told _you to **trust me!" **He bit his lip, trying to control the volume of his voice. Hinata shook her head. "I tried… But-"

"No… No!" He yelled back, cutting her off. Hinata looked up at him, caught off-guard by his raised voice. Naruto began to look wildly around the room. For inspiration? For a way out? She didn't know.

"You can't! I don't want you to go, Hinata! I love you!" She ignored her heartbeat and swallowed hard. This time, it was over.

"Naruto…"

"No!" He screamed in desperation, putting his hands on his head and staring at nothing.

"No…" He whispered, his eyes wide with panic, and Hinata stood up and began to back away from him.

"I'm almost done… We can almost… Run away…" She picked up her bag, shut it, and ran out the door, leaving Naruto along with all her feelings for him.

Just as she turned in a corner, she collided with something and stepped back.

"Ow…"

"Are you alright, miss?" A low, calm voice spoke from above her and she resisted the urge to meet his eyes, scared that he might question her tears.

"Yes… Excuse me." She sidestepped him and continued down the hallway with calmer steps than before.

"Oh, wait! Where can I find Mr. Uzumaki Naruto?" He asked, suddenly. She stopped.

"Wh-what do you ne-need with h-him…?"

"He sold Spiral Inc. to me, Miyamoto Naoki." Her eyes widened.

"Wh-what?!" Hinata spun around and walked back up to him. "He di-did what?!"

"Relax, lady. Like I said, this whole place practically belongs to me now. I bought my rival company for a cheap penny. I just need to confirm a couple of things with the young man."

_Trust me._

Hinata froze.

_I'd like for you to trust me as much as you possibly can. _

"No… way…"

_I might say some stuff, but try to handle it, okay?_

"What are _you _doing here?!" Kushina's voice rang out, snapping Hinata out of her revelation. He couldn't possibly have…

"That's not a nice way to greet your new boss." Kushina was silent for a moment, then she suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.

"You're so pathetic, Naoki. My son took over the company just yesterday!"

"Yeah, and the first thing he did was sell it to me." He held up a contract.

"No…" She snatched it from him and read through it in a matter of seconds. "No!"

"_Oh, that reminds me. Your biggest rival is Ramona Inc., right?" Minato shivered and frowned while nodding. _

"_Yeah, Miyamoto Naoki is not one to mess with. Don't let him take over the company no matter what. He'll ruin it."_

"_I see."_

Hinata bolted down the hallway like an Olympic champion at the start gun. After was felt like time travel, she flung Naruto's door open and he looked up at her weakly with half-open eyes. He was visibly relieved to see her standing there, and smiled slightly in hope of that she would say that she'd changed her mind.

"Narut-"

"NARUTO!" Kushina's heavy footsteps caused the floor to shake like an earthquake, and realization struck Naruto.

"He's… already here?" Hinata nodded, wanting to say so much more than she would ever be able to. Could he even forgive her for not believing in him?

"Then, let's get going!" He threw himself to his feet with newfound energy.

"L-Let's…?" Naruto looked at her, and ran a hand through his hair. He laughed.

"Look at us, we've both been crying." Then, he turned serious. "Please, forgive me. I went way too far…"

"No, I-"

"NARUTO!" Kushina was about to open the door.

"But, uh, let's talk about this later, okay?" He opened the window, and Hinata immediately panicked.

'_Are we committing suicide?!'_

"Wh-what are you do-doing, Naruto…?!" He wrapped his long arm around her waist and cast her a wonderful warm smile mixed with ineffable emotions. It was then that she understood; they really _were _meant to be. Despite the problems that they went through and the amount of sadness he had caused her, all it took was one smile and everything was fine again.

She wanted to stay with him, to be with him forever.

"We'll run away, **together."**

* * *

_**I'll try to be quick with the next chapter, because there will be lemon. **_

_**Now, I can proudly say that the worst of the angst and drama is over. It's up to you whether or not you want me to continue it with more, trivial things!**_

_**Next up!**_

**Naruto and Hinata return home to Japan only to find out that her father is out of the country on a business trip while her cousin is at camp. Using this to his advantage, Naruto decides to ask her to stay at his house. **

**What will happen? **

**I think we're sharing the same thoughts!**

**Chapter fourteen: Finally, You're Mine**


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